I was born and raised in sunny San Diego until the age of 15 when I left for Massachusetts to start college. My brother Michael is a soon-to-be 10 year old and definitely on the spectrum! I do my best to take some of the load off of my Mom (which has admittedly become much more pleasurable since I got my own car...Thanks Mom!). Fortunately Michael is very high functioning and is able to participate in many 'normal' activities, but sometimes will require an aid which is where I come in. For example last summer's Cub Scout Day Camp which I attended every day.

So far Michael has succeeded in creating an enormous amount of memories for our family; whether it's running down the baggage claim belt at the airport (of course everyone wants to k now what's down there), or running down the bowling alley lane at my 12th birthday party (of course I was mortified), or when he got caught in a rip current at the beach last summer. Although some of these moments are not the most enjoyable of my life, they each came with a unique lesson and increased my level of appreciation for Michael being a part of my life. Although Michael is my little brother, he has taught me so much and I'm sure has many more lessons planned. If all of us NT siblings, parents, friends, and mere observers could step back for a moment, I'm sure we could gain from those people in our lives who are diagnosed with Autism.