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With my son turning five in a few weeks, I am still relatively new to our journey with Autism. I can remember a time when he was two and our family was in crisis. My husband and I could not understand his behavior. We had moved over 200 miles away from any family and had not yet been able to establish ourselves in our new community or make friends. We had no experience with Autism and could not understand what our child was trying to tell us. Frustration set in and depression ruled my days. I can remember holding my head in my hands and thinking "Please - I need help. I can't do this alone." I remember reading a piece of advice in a book on Autism: Build a strong support network. It took me at least six months from that difficult, turning point moment, but I found a parent support group. This helped me find other parents dealing with similar issues, helping me see I was not alone. Resources, tips, ideas and professionals came thru this channel, bringing our family out of our crisis and into stability, well as stable as a family gets with the challenges of ASD. After two and a half years, my circle of friends, other families with similar struggles continues to support and amaze me. I posted a comment on a different website about how glorious it is to hear my son's voice. I never get tired of it - being that we had to wait so long for any words. I had at least 10 people offer their supportive comments, maybe not a whole lot to some, but to me - those 10 people represent my light in the dark. I am so grateful for them and the hope they give to me.