Over the years I have come to realize that most people do not know what autism is, yet they know what Down Syndrome is. Maybe this is because autistic children 'look' like everyone else. The thing is they aren't like everyone else. This is one of the things that makes bringing up an autistic child so hard: the lack of understanding, by others, of their condition.

'Research has found that parents and families of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder are under greater stress than those with Down Syndrome or who are physically or mentally handicapped.' -Autism News, Sept 2002.

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During this time I'd learnt some basic sign language. (My son still wasn't talking at five years of age.) Our way of communicating was through signing and compix (pictures with words that were placed on just about every object in the house). When my son would want something to eat, he would find the picture of what he wanted and I would sign it and say the word at the same time. He would try to repeat it back, with some success. He was also gaining better eye contact with me, but not with others. He was over six before he started to say two-word sentences (we stopped signing then). He was at school (with an aide) and he had a wonderful teacher who put extra effort into getting him to talk. Though, even now at thirteen years of age, you still won't get him to talk much, or at all if he doesn't know you, yet he can read every single word in any book or magazine you give him. He just finds it difficult to have conversation (unless it's about computer games!).