My son is special. Not because of Autism, but because he is my child. We have had our challenges, the biggest being communication. Dean is 9 years old and he does not talk. I always believed that he was intelligent, but we could not find a form of communication he would use. I always thought that once we did, he would really take off. Eight months ago, his speech therapist and I discovered that he could read and spell. It didn't take us long to find out that not only had he taught himself how to read and spell, he had also taught himself how to add and subtract. After a few months, he had gone from doing pre-k work to 5th grade level work.

My son is happier now. He "talks" to us using a computer keyboard and a touch screen. He is trying to do a lot more. Most of all, he has become a full member of the family. It took some adjustment, but now he spends a lot less time in his own world and more sharing with us.

Dean's favorite activities are watching movies, listening to music, playing with felt sets, roller skating, and hiking. The roller skating was a surprise. He told me he wanted his own skates and that he wanted to learn how to roller skate. He is doing really great with them. He will watch the same movie over and over again, but he is taking turns with several different ones instead of just one or two.

We have had and continue to have, many conversations about him being diagnosed with autism. He doesn't like it. He wants me to make him normal.  He even asked me why does God hate me. I explained everything to him and told him God loves him. I never realized how low his self-esteem was  before he was able to communicate with me. Dean does not show his emotions like other children do. It has taken us some time, but he is starting to accept the fact that he has autism.

What advice or words of wisdom can I give to other moms who have a child that has autism? The biggest is to remember that even though they might not show it, our children feel just like we do. Another important point to remember is to not assume that just because a child does not talk or has limited verbal communication skills, that he or she is not intelligent. Intelligence and verbal communication do not go hand in hand. One of my son's favorite things to "say" to me is that "I know it in my head, why do I have to type it?"