This is my nephew, "The Beast". He just turned three & he has autism. I never really got upset over the fact that he has Autism, just shock in the beginning, but he is who he is and I love him just as he is. I babysat him before he had Autism and I watch him all the time now because he lives half his time with my brother and we all live together. I know how to handle his over stimulation and I don't get frustrated when his OCD goes into overdrive and he has to listen to his favorite song which is by "Little John" a million times. He is who he is and I love him more than anything in the world. He's an awesome kid, funny and is very affectionate. He is also adorable. It does suck that he isn't talking yet, but we have our own way of communication. It usually never crosses my mind that he is autistic and any different from any other kid, but last night I had found a tape I made when he was probably around one and we were playing. He was laughing and babbling and starting to talk baby gibberish. It just killed me. This little guy was developing normally and doing all the things that he was supposed to do and that all stopped as soon as he got vaccinated. The days following his vaccination, he was ambluanced to the hospital and was in the hospital for over a week with high fever and an infection the docs couldn't figure out. When he got out, he was never the same. He was diagnosed last November and it has almost been a year. He is getting better due to the fact that my brother and the Beast's mom are so adamant about finding a cure. He is on a very strict diet and is about to start a "treatment" that is brand new and controversial, but we can't give up hope. It makes me sad. I am about to do a paper on it for one of my classes and I know it is going to make me sad and really pissed.
