This web site is dedicated to all the caring parents and families who struggle with the normal everyday life of a child diagnosed with PDD or Autism. We love our children very dearly but only a parent of a special needs child understands the vast amount of understanding and patience required to help our children get through the day. It also helps to have support for ourselves as the parents or it becomes difficult to help our child. I thank God for the strength He gives me daily as well as the support He provides for me in my friends and family, most especially my mom.

Another strong source of help has been our church. They are willing to modify class settings, etc. to accomodate my son's disability. Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD) covers a variety of neurological disorders. Autism Spectrum Disorder is the most well known form and can affect a child severely or mildly. Autism is found four times more often in boys than in girls. Rett's Syndrome is the disorder more common to girls. Asperger's Syndrome is commonly refered to as "high functioning autism". Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is also covered under PDD but is extremely rare. Many children are diagnosed as Pervasive Developmental Delay Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS). This category covers children who don't completely meet the criteria to be diagnosed with one of the first four disorders above or don't have the degree of impairment that qualify as one of those disorders. For more specific information on each of these disorders check out my Resource page.

Autism interferes with the normal development of the brain in areas of communication, thought processing and social contact and interplay. Children with autism appear to be slower in these areas making it hard for them to communicate. Self stimulation behaviors (stimming) such as hand flapping, rocking or jumping around may be present. Some children also show self injurious behavior such as head banging or biting. The senses can be affected either in a hypo or hyper manner. Children with autism have a difficult time making and keeping eye contact. Autism is currently more common than Down's Syndrome in developmental disabilities, yet most people know little or nothing about the disorder. I know in my case, I was shocked to learn my son had autism as my only knowledge of it was what I had seen in the movie "Rainman" and he was nothing like that, or so I thought. Many children with autism appear to be typical children when observed casually. If they misbehave, others just think their parents don't discipline enough. Unfortunately, it is common for most people to have little or no knowledge of this disorder, thereby making them judgmental and uncompassionate, yet conservative estimates say that nearly 400,000 people in the USA have some form of autism. There is no known cause of autism at this point in time. We do know that there are neurological differences in the brain of a child with autism. In some families there seem to be other relatives with disorders in the autism family such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and others that suggest there may be a genetic basis to the disorder. I have seen this to be true in my family. Autism is not a mental illness and children with autism do not choose to exhibit the negative behavior associated with it. Although there is no known cure at this time, there are therapies and medications that can have a positive affect on the symptoms. Some symptoms lesson as the child gets older.  Don't give up is the key, keep looking and asking until you find the best ways to help your child from his/her individual capabilities.