Autism:
"Yes, Cate, I know," says Nicole Knepper as she smiles with a sigh. This is the way her vibrant 3-year-old daughter greets her everyday, several times a day.

LIVING WITH AUTISM
Pleschette Davis-Moore clearly remembers
the "poor you" look the ultrasound technician gave her before hurrying to get the doctor who’d only say he saw birth defects before sending her away.

Dreaming for Charlie
When doctors diagnosed Charlie Creedon with autism about 13 years ago, he was the 1 in 10,000.

A heart full of love
The first time she met a mom with a child with autism, Susan O’Shaughnessy remembers thinking how lucky it was that she wasn’t that mom.

The almost perfect baby
The small bumper sticker on Nicole Strawser’s car offers only a hint of the story behind it.

So gifted, yet just different
Don’t ask Nathan Zimbrich who, when and why.

Not just man's best friend
When 13-year-old Ethan Brown’s mom told him he couldn’t get an Xbox 360, Ethan’s immediate response was to lay down next to his dog, Apple, and pour his heart out about his disappointment.

'No day is ordinary'
Checkup after checkup, the first 18 months of Giacomo Pisani’s life had his mom walking out of the doctor’s office hearing the most reassuring word a parent could hear: perfect.

Best chances
Katie McGee watched her son’s words disappear one by one. Sean only used five or six words, but once he turned 1 they began to vanish.

In it together as a family
Dave Gnadt doesn’t take the little things in life for granted. Especially his young sons, Anthony and Nicco, a boy with melt-dad’s-heart blue eyes and autism.

Taking Giant Steps for autism
Like most schools, Giant Steps teaches its students independence.

From just mom to advocate
Where there were roadblocks, Ellen Garber Bronfeld made opportunities.