My name is Janice and I live in McGehee, AR. I have a 15 year old son who has autism. His name is Regynald. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. This is our story.

In southeast Arkansas, there are not a lot of resources. I knew something was wrong when Regynald turned 18 months. There was no eye contact and all the smiles were gone. I went to his docto, but he was no help. I went to the health department--again, no help. When Regynald turned 24 months, people looked at him and noticed that something wasn't right. Finally a door opened.

I decided to go back to school. I took a class in child development. This is where I first heard about autism. After graduation, I became a Child Development Associate. In January 1995, I began working at the Southeast Arkansas Educational Service Cooperative as an Early Childhood Paraprofessional. I began working with developmentally disabled children ages 3 to 5 years. When Regynald turned 3, he was enrolled in the program. Although this is a good program, it is only for 30 minutes once a week.

Regynald was refered to the Arkansas Children's Hospital Outreach Program. After a couple of hours, one of the doctors asked me if I had ever heard of autism. The outreach team agreed that it would be best that Regynald be placed in a daycare around other children. At the time, the team believed that maybe Regynald only had charicteristics of autism. So Regynald was enrolled at Jenkins Memorial in Pine Bluff, AR.

Regynald's first day was ok. At the time, he was nonverbal. Explaining to him that he was leaving his comfort zone and going to a strange place was a challenge. He would run back and forth all day. The only time he stopped was to eat. Food was and still is a challenge. I had to try different things. For awhile, it was hit and miss. He was not potty trained. It took one year to get Regynald in a routine. With the help of the school, Regynald was potty trained, began to try SOME new foods, and started to talk. He continued to go to Jenkins 5 days a week for 3 years.

At age 6, Regynald transitioned to McGehee Elementary School. I took him to his new school to meet the staff. Visual cues were used to help Regynald with the transition. With the help of the school, an aide was hired. His communication skills were a big problem. With limited communication, asking for help was difficult. Over a period of about 2 weeks, the visual cues were no longer needed. He memorized every place he needed to go. I asked that he be placed with regular kids, not just during lunch. With some modifications, Regynald has continued to improve his communication skills. He is now an A and B student in the 10th grade. He still needs an aide. Without his aide, non of this would be possible.

If I had not looked outside the box and beyond McGehee, none of this would be possible. I encourage all parents of special needs children to "Look outside the box". Our story doesn't end here. This is a story that will continue for many years to come.