My relationship with my sister in law wasn’t great at first. She was the first to suggest that Jonny may have autism at the age of 2½. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with him, even though looking back; he didn’t interact with the 3 older kids. He was content to stare at the fan, being a quiet “good baby”, or so I thought. I thought she was just comparing him to her same aged daughter, Julia. You know – the ‘my kids better than yours’ game. How naïve I was! But, being a good and responsible mother, I reluctantly took him to the doctor, while he kicked and screamed all the way, to have him checked out. Surprisingly, he said Jonny had autism and to bring him back in a year. Thank God, Anna convinced me to get a second opinion. I would have had to wait that year and miss out on the most important early intervention year of his life. Talk about swallowing a little pride. I made up for my attitude though and began the diligent quest for information, attending as many conferences as I possibly could and became a sponge, soaking up everything I could, which ultimately was the foundation for Autism Today. If he turned out to have autism, which I still doubted, it would put him ahead of the game.