Diagnosis:  Autism or Autistic DisorderExplanation of Diagnosis: Severe problems with social interaction, communication, and atypical behavior.     This is the diagnosis.  These are the words they used to describe my son.  Are they close?  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  I've always said that nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to tell me what my little boy can't and won't be able to do.  These words do no justice to who my little boy really is.  They don't know that he likes a cup of juice right when he wakes up from a nap.  They don't know that he likes to drink his evening cup of milk while sitting in mommy or daddy's lap.  They don't know that he absolutely hates the "Ants Go Marching..." song and will push the buttons until he gets to the "Baa Baa Black Sheep" song (which he knows is track 19) on his nursery rhymes CD.  They don't know any of this, yet they try to encapsulate his entire being in as little as a dozen words.  Autistic children aren't supposed to display or seek out emotion (or so the theory goes).  Autistic children aren't supposed to do many things.  But Harrison defies these odds and does all these things.  Just yesterday, Harrison sought me out for a hug and kiss.  I can't ever really remember him doing this; I cried.     I catch glimpses of Harrison doing things that aren't characteristic of children with Autism.  He once hugged and kissed a little girl at an indoor play area, unprompted.  He once told me something that happened to him earlier that day and even referred to himself in the proper tense.  He once hugged his Elmo doll when it was crying and said, "Elmo sad."  I catch glimpses of this little boy inside Harrison, stuck and trying to get out.  I catch a glimpse, and then he's gone, almost like he never existed.  We are trying so hard to get that little boy to come out of his shell, but maybe I should start thinking that there is no shell; Harrison is who he is.  That still doesn't erase the fact that Harrison has done things the experts said he wouldn't.  They were wrong; they were wrong.     I have often seen children write about who their hero is for school writing assignments.  More often than not, I've seen little boys write that their hero is their dad.  I never got to do this assignment.  If I could do it now, I would probably write that my hero is my son.  He has already faced more adversity in his first 2 1/2 years than I would ever wish to.  He has taught me just as much as I hopefully have taught him.  He has the ability to make me see the bright side of things when I only thought darkness was possible.  The simple fact that he keeps going, even after dealing with what he has to deal with truly amazes me.  He is such a very special little boy that I sometimes think I don't deserve him.  He has already defied the odds that are stacked against him, and he is the bravest little boy I know.  For this, and everything else he does in my life, he truly is my hero.  Maybe I will write this assignment.  Maybe it will help me appreciate him even more (if that's even possible).  It won't be for any points; it won't be for any grade.  But what I will get will come in the form of extra credit: him.  I truly love my son, and I am lucky and blessed to have him.