I am very excited to be a new blogger on the Autism One Site. I bring to the table over six years of studying the Autism issues for approximately 100 hours a week. So I figure I have over 31,000 hours of study time in. I have read studies, blogs, emails, posts, books, and have lived with a non verbal son dealing with Autism all that time. I have been helping raise awareness on all fronts. We have many irons in the fire and need all hands on deck.

Fourteen years ago there was limited information available on autism. I found only two books that offered me any kind of hope. Thinking in Pictures by; Temple Grandin was one and Somebody Somewhere by; Donna Williams was the second. Both women are considered to have a high functioning autism.

Today, with the use of the Internet and the thousands of books being written on the subject of autism everyone is an expert. Parents have so much information available. How can you possibility decide what direction to take?

The mere diagnosis of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder can render a parent speechless. With the increase of Autism Awareness, diagnosis is becoming greater, however what to do once a child is diagnosed is often incomplete. One facet often overlooked is the siblings of the child with autism. How is autism affecting them and how should a family deal with the various issues which arise?