I can't believe my baby turned 12 today. Time has flown, it seems like he was just a baby and now he's a young man! It's been quite a journey with him so far! I feel very blessed to be his mom. He has taught me so much about patience and love and it seems like every time I turn around he has exceeded my expectations for him. We received the heartbreaking news that he was probably autistic when he was 18 months old. His initial diagnosis was a language development delay. As he has grown, and developed and through early intervention at school, speech therapy and occupational therapy he has progressed amazingly into a very intuitive, very loving, sometimes very oppositional boy. He falls somewhere on the very high functioning end of the autism spectrum. He is still mainstreamed in school and seems to be holding his own there. Socially, I worry that he doesn't fit in but he has some amazing classmates who love him and look out for him as does his little sister who adores him (most of the time!!) Regardless of his "diagnosis" he is and always be my baby Jacob. I am a very lucky mom and I love him very much! Happy Birthday Jake!