Paul-Thanks so much! Easter Seals is an incredible organization. Autism is just one facet of the many things they do to help children with all disabilities.

Hats off to Easter Seals and the Rohdes. This is a much needed service to the OKC community and central Oklahoma. Thank you for stepping out to provide this much needed service!

Russell, you are so welcome. You know, I don't think parents think this topic is taboo, our days are so un-typical from everyone else's, we just don't mention we were up all night because our little boy or little girl was crying in pain and they couldn't tell us what was wrong because they lost the ability to speak at 2 or 3 years old. If we sat around and just accepted what happened to our children, we couldn't live with ourselves, so while our home life is much different than others with typical children, we just don't talk about it much because it is so hard for many people to relate to. I do know this, that families living with autism are the most intelligent, caring, and courageous people on this earth. And thank you again for the question. Take care. Robyne Rohde.

Thank you for answering that, it seems you are busy, so thank you for taking the time to write that. I have never been able to find anyone who would talk about the stress of raising a child with autism. It is almost like it is a taboo subject that no one should talk about and pretends that everything is dandy at home. Thank you for answering.

To answer your question---while I'm on my lunch hour..80% of families having a child with autism end in divorce. The financial stress (we spend out of pocket $4000/month on medical treatments and therapies for our son that our medical insurance will not cover) and the 24x7 care these children require can almost be unbearable. Additionally, everything is a fight, we have to fight for a decent public education, which is almost non-existent in Oklahoma, fight with the insurance companies, try to think up ways to code certain medical treatments with our pediatrician so insurance will pay for speech, occupational or physical therapies. My husband and I haven't been out together for over 4 years. Our little boy, who is beginning to recover is still not quite potty trained and he is 10 years old and non-verbal. Even our own family's don't know how to take care of our son for more than a couple of hours. There is an estimated 1.5 million children in the US with autism. The family unit is falling apart, families are filing bankruptcy because of the mounting medical and therapy bills. There are no physicians in Oklahoma who understand how to treat an autistic child so families who can travel out of state. We go to Dallas every 2 weeks for our son's treatments. We took him to Austin to see the only physicians in the country who know how to treat the gastroentestinal issues 80% of these children have. We took him to 3 GI docs in Oklahoma who could not help him at all. So your question was a great one. Our son wasn't born autistic, like so many other children, but something happened in his little life that triggered this heartbreaking neurological disease, which by the way is treatable and many, many children can lose some or all the symptoms of autism, if the parents obtain the right treatments and have enough money. Oh, and did I mention how much work we have to miss because of the endless sessions with therapists and doctors? Many employers don't appreciate it, I happen to work for one that understands, but all of my vacation is used up taking our son to the doctor, so there is little time off and even if there is....it is still work. But you know what? We are getting our little boy back and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. Our little guy had a purpose in life. It is because of him that we have Nick's Law and while it didn't pass during the last legislative session, we won't stop fighting until it does. Robyne Rohde, Mommy to Nicholas (Nick's Law) and Austin (Nick's twin brother who isn't autistic).