Autism Atlas

My name is Jane Dunthorne. I am a wife and mother of three wonderful children, one of whom has autism. My husband and I moved to the United States from England in 1993 and have lived in the Pittsburgh area on and off ever since. Our darling son, Alex, was born here in 1999 and diagnosed with autism when he was three. He was non verbal except when he recited the words to the movie Monsters Inc. with 100% accuracy!! He struggled with managing his emotions and had severe meltdowns. He also suffered from various sensory processing issues which intensified his meltdowns. As soon as he was diagnosed, he started intensive wraparound services - 40 hours a week at home and then once he started school, he had complete TSS throughout the day. When he was six, we moved to the Wilkes Barre area and Alex continued receiving services. He was making steady progress and was beginning to be able to control his emotions and frustrations. In 2009, when he was 10, we returned to the Pittsburgh area.