From the very first moment I held my son in my arms, I wanted the very best for him. I bought him expensive name brand clothes, the most educational toys, I put my career aside and have spent the past 5 years of his life taking care of him because I thought that being there for him was the best thing I could do for him. I always imagined the kind of life he'd have growing up and as an adult. Then, at 18 months we started to notice that Jarrett was a little different. He wouldn't eat much, he wouldn't speak, he didn't take his first steps until 18 months old, he played differently than other childern his age. I went to our doctor and he assured me that he was just a little behind and that there was nothing to worry about. I knew he was wrong. I persued an Early Intervention Agency on my own and they refferd me to get an evaluation done on my son. After his 3rd birthday, we got the news that changed our lives. Jarrett was diganosed as High Functioning Autistic. In that time we have dealt with Speech delays, biting, violent outbursts, meltdowns, sensory and behavior issues. We've had good days and bad days. At one point I even thought that just maybe he had overcome his autism and finally learned to function in a socially acceptable way. Lately he seems to have regressed. His outbursts and metdowns have returned and so has his somewhat violent behavior. His school has begun to question weather or not he's ready to be in a mainstream kindergarden class. I now face the decision of weather or not to homeschool my child. Should I medicate him? Should I enroll him in a special needs program? Do I follow him to school everyday to help keep in under control? I'm under so much stress at the moment, and to add to everything I'm pregnant and high risk on top of that. I've sought out help from The Central Texas Autism Center in Austin, Texas. The wait list is very long and it may be months before he'll be able to get in for his first evaluation. I dont know how to get him the help he needs. You know, it's hard enough being a parent in the first place, but having a special needs child makes things even more complicated. It's difficult to know if the choices you make are the right ones, and which will affect them for the rest of thier lives.