Stephen Michael Andrews was born 6 years ago into a world that he just wasn't ready for, or we can say a world that wasn’t ready for him!!! I will never forget the day he was born, weighing 10 lbs 4 oz and 23 inches long. He was our Bubba from day one. We started out on this long road with over 4 months of colic and acid reflux, then numerous ear infections, and by the end of his first year of life he had 2 fractures under his belt. The first year was hell! When Stephen was 18 months old he still didn’t have any language and seemed to have some sensory issues so we had Early Intervention evaluate him. He qualified for both speech and occupational therapy and still has both services till this day. November of 2014 our brave Bubba was diagnosed with autism. It was a serious struggle from a parent’s point of view. I personally had a hard time and still struggle with having a “label” placed on my son, which would follow him the rest of his life. Even though this diagnosis was a hard pill to swallow it was also reassuring us that we aren’t bad parents and our son is not just a “brat.” Our son can be helped!!!! We can be taught how to manage our son’s behaviors!!!! It has been a long road and we have had our challenges, but He is so smart, and loves to read. Temple Grandin describes it best, Stephen is a visual thinker, not a language-based thinker, his brain is like Google images.  He has made such tremendous progress in these last 2 years, I am so thankful for the brigade we have around us! They say it takes a village to raise a child, well I say it takes an army to raise a special needs child. Please join us in the fight to raise awareness and acceptance for Autism. Make your donations, join our team or just cheer us on from the sidelines!!!!