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When my oldest child was born 17 years ago, it was obvious to me immediately that something was different about him. I had no idea at the time how all the dreams I had for him before his birth would change.

My pregnancy wasn't all that abnormal. I had gestational diabetes and had excellent prenatal care. I was considered high risk because of the gestational diabetes. Otherwise, I had no problems. When I went into labor, everything was going fine, and then things changed quickly. I had an emergency c-section because I stopped dilating and the baby's heart rate had slowed to a dangerous level.

For the first four years of his life, my son would scream often and his attention span was almost nonexistent. He had speech problems, and he was incredibly hyperactive. Going out to eat and going to church became almost impossible. Even going to the store to shop took at least two people, but more often four, just to help control my son so that I could shop and take him with me.

I had taken my son to regular doctors and he would be calm, leaving them to say there was nothing going on with him. By this time, I was convinced it was all in my head and that this was normal behavior for a child. I hadn't been around a lot of babies or young kids, so I had little to compare his behavior to other than my original feeling that something was very different about him.

As a baby, he could not stand to be held. He would go stiff as a board and scream. Hugs were almost impossible. Trying to hold him resulted in screams most of the time. Getting him to go to sleep at night became a nightmare in itself.

Then came public school, and my second child. My son started Pre-K at the age of four, and it turned out to be a blessing. His teacher immediately picked up on his behaviors, and after seeing him around a room full of other children, his behavior stood out like a ship on the open ocean. She began to make daily notes of his behavior for me, of the screaming, the barking, the hitting himself, the need for his own personal space, the lack of social skills. Another parent told me of a good doctor and I made an appointment.

He was diagnosed with PDD or Pervasive Developmental Disorder, part of the autism spectrum. And he was diagnosed with ADHD, Tourette's Syndrome, and Apraxia of Speech. He was put on Ritalin and his first pill was something that I can never forget. It was like the child looked like my child, but he was calm and wasn't screaming. In a room full of other kids his age, he acted

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