Collin was born prematurely at 30 weeks. He weighed only 2.12 ounces and was 19 inches long. He stayed in the hospital in the NICU for two months before being able to finally come home.

When Collin was a baby I bought a book called What to Expect the First Year. The book gave charts of developmental milestones that babies should be reaching and at what ages they should reach them. At first Collin was progressing at the normal rate, but when he was about a year and a half old, he stopped reaching those milestone marks, and slowly he started losing developmental milestones that he had already reached. He was regressing, and not only was he regressing, but he was becoming fussy, easily agitated, wouldn't respond when we said his name, make eye contact, and started not eating foods that he had previously enjoyed.

I took Collin to our pediatrician a few times to express my concerns about this and the pediatrician would say, "Oh, it's just because he's premature. He’ll catch up." And, "He is a boy and boys develop slower than girls. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about." My next appointment with the pediatrician was to talk about concerns that I had that my son was having seizures (she tried to tell me he was having breath-holding tantrums). During that appointment, my son had a meltdown of epic proportions, and the doctor told me that she was going to be sending me to Children's Hospital. She didn't elaborate, and I was so surprised that she was actually taking action that I didn't ask any questions.

At Children's Hospital we met with a Neurologist, a Speech Language Pathologist, and an Occupational Therapist. I filled out form after form and answered many questions. They had me return many times to observe Collin, do hearing and genetic testing, and finally to give me his final diagnosis of Autism. I had no clue what Autism was, but thankfully, they had a social worker come in and talk to me a little about it, and she gave me a folder filled with information, resources, next steps, and a reading list.

Within two months I had Collin in a great birth-to-three program at Little Red School House in Lynnwood, and he was going to Speech, Occupational, Nutritional, and Physical therapies, one hour each, per day. Collin loved to watch Thomas the Train and other preschool cartoons, but was definitely obsessed with Thomas. There came a point one day in Speech Therapy that I broke down on the poor therapist, sobbing so hard my body was basically convulsing from my emotions. Collin wasn't making any progress, and I was terrified that my son, whom I love more than my own life, would never be able to say he loved me too.

The day he said "mommy” -- about six months later -- was one of the happiest days of my life. Some people find that odd, but I explain to them that it wasn't what he said, or that he finally was able to say anything, that made me so happy, but rather that it meant something larger than all of that. To me it meant HOPE! Hope that he would speak, hope that he would someday eat something other than French fries and chicken nuggets, hope that he might have what I would have classified at that time as a "normal" life!

I dug in and went to work with and for him harder than ever. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on about autism. I spent countless hours, months, and eventually years researching anything autism-related on the Internet. We tried different diets, alternative medicines, play/social groups,  therapies, and teaching techniques. I attended support groups, conferences, workshops, speaking engagements (I love Temple Grandin!), educational trainings, advocacy training – you name it and I probably did it.

By the time Collin was 6 years old, he was speaking very well although even today, he still has severe echolalia (the repeating of words, sentences, phrases, etc.). Our biggest hurdle he finally jumped! He was finally out of pull-ups and was potty trained! Collin was so proud and so was I! I threw him a "Potty Party" at McDonalds (his favorite place to eat those darned chicken nuggets).

Now, five years later, Collin toilets himself completely independently, as well as showers, washes and combs his hair, brushes his teeth, puts on deodorant, waits for the school bus alone, and dresses on his own! We are still working on shoe tying, but I am confident that he will be able to do it soon. Collin also no longer has a meltdown when it's time for a haircut, to go shopping, vacuum, do homework, go to the dentist or doctors, and many other things. To some parents, that's no big deal. But to us, and Collin, it's huge to have overcome Sensory Processing Disorder so much that those activities can be tolerated now.

From the time Collin was 2 years old until he was 9, he had a very limited and unhealthy diet that consisted mostly of chicken nuggets, French fries, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, fruit snacks, and chocolate pudding. Even with Nutritional therapy we just couldn't fix it, and the more time that passed the more worried I became about his health, and he was gaining unhealthy amounts of weight.

Suddenly, when Collin was about 8 years old, he started to try and LIKE new foods! He started to like turkey, chicken, ham, and steak! Fruits were next, apples, grapes, bananas and cantaloupe. I remember sharing on my Facebook page about the first time he ate corn and liked it. It's still his favorite vegetable but he also really likes asparagus! He will eat so many things now, and has lost all of the unhealthy weight he had gained. He likes to dance and exercise to, as he says it, "stay sexy for the Lay-Deez!" Lol! It makes me want to do the happy dance almost every night at dinner time. If anyone else has this problem, just keep trying, every day, to introduce foods that your child doesn't like. Always start a meal by giving them tiny amounts of what the rest of the family is having, and reward them if they take at least one bite of each item on the plate. I tell Collin if he really doesn't like something, he can go spit it out into the garbage, and it's working wonderfully.

Collin has become more and more independent through his hard work, and he now has chores like taking out the trash and checking the mail. About a month ago, I let him go to a store in the mall alone. I was so afraid, but he wasn’t! I kept going back to the store and looking through the windows to watch him and check on him (I constantly battle being a helicopter mom!). Every time I checked on him he was fine and doing great. When my anxiety finally got the best of me, and I couldn't focus on shopping for myself, I went back to get him. I told him, "I'm proud of you for staying put and not leaving and getting lost." And he replied, "Mom, I forgot where you told me to come find you.” This was exactly what I was afraid of, so we still need to work on remembering information and instructions but we WILL keep trying and progressing toward our goal of complete independence.

I've been fighting and advocating for my son for six years now for his educational needs and rights. I feel I could teach a class on it, I'm so practiced. The hardest fights (for many reasons) were about the use of restraints, seclusion, and inclusion (LRE). Finally, after all that effort, the school agreed to have Collin in a General Education class no less than 75% of the time (he's actually in general ed about 90% now though). This (as I knew it would) has been Collin’s best year ever! Collin has had only two behavior problems since school began this year, and is keeping up with the general education curriculum just as well as his typical peers.

His biggest struggles right now are social issues (and that he is COMPLETELY girl crazy, lol!) and organizational skills. He and I are both so proud of this major accomplishment! He will even be joining his classmates for fifth grade camp next month. We are now beginning transition planning for Collin to go into middle school next fall, where he will be in general education 100% of the time. I have been helping other parents advocate for their children's educations, attending IEP meetings with them and so much more. It makes me feel so blessed to be able to help other families in similar (extremely stressful, emotional, and frustrating) situations by sharing what I've learned through our own battles with school districts’ bulldog blockers! It is so fulfilling and rewarding knowing that I am helping children to get the education they so  desperately need and deserve.

Collin has had real difficulties with sportsmanship and losing. He does play one  sport, baseball, in a wonderful adaptive league called Miracle League. It's a program completely funded by donations, and is provided through the Sky Valley YMCA. Every spring Collin plays with other kids whom all bat until they hit the ball, never get out, and all win every game! There is a volunteer for every child, helping them with anything they need, and at the end of the season, every child gets an MVP trophy. The best thing about him participating is that it gives him the ability to feel like a success, and like the winner that he is!

Through this wonderful crazy journey called Autism, I have learned so much that I can't even sum it up for you, but I will share what I think is the most important. LOVE and ACCEPT your child for who they are, not what their abilities are. Educate yourself as much as possible so that you may better understand your child and his or her needs. ADVOCATE! Not just for your child, but for all children, differently abled or not.

Never be afraid to use your knowledge and voice to get what your child deserves and needs! Remember:  our children are different, not less! Reach out to other parents through organizations or social media. You are not alone! Sharing struggles and successes with others is wonderful. Celebrate with your child every accomplishment they have no matter how small. Sometimes, knowing we are proud of them is their biggest motivator.

Above all, tell your child every single day that you wouldn't change them, they are wonderful just the way they are, and how much you love them and what they mean to you. Their knowing these simple truths will give them confidence in who they are, and help them to be strong self advocates as they grow older.

Collin is my biggest blessing and joy. He is humorous, intelligent, considerate, kind, affectionate, and determined. He works so hard at things that "typical" people take for granted. Neighbor kids won't play with him because he is different. It breaks my heart because he doesn't understand, it hurts him, and I cannot fix it for him. The current school year has been amazing though, and Collin now has friends that he loves to call and talk to, and connect with on Xbox live while playing video games (Sonic the Hedgehog is his favorite). Sometimes I think that Collin has taught me more about life than I have taught him. There is nothing that I would change about my son. I think he is perfect in his differences and individuality. I would not be me without him. He is my best friend, my air, my world, my heart and I could not exist without him.
-- Angela, Ausome mom to Ausome Collin