I've been a single mom for over seven years now. The time has really flown. My biggest regret in raising my two children on my own is knowing that I'm going to wake up one day and they'll be grown. I know they have missed out on so much because there is only one of me and two of them. I wish it were different for them. They deserve so much more.

Melissa is twelve years old and is emerging as her own strong, independent self. She is passionate about her speed skates and "quads" (we used to call them rollerskates). She really is a talented skater. She still loves soccer, but doesn't play on a team right now. She is involved in our church youth group and can usually be found talking on the phone to her friends. Actually, anything social appeals to her. I guess she's not that much different than me!

Stephen just turned nine. He is a busy guy who loves to play Nintendo and is fascinated with world geography and weather. But he has been through a lot to get where he is today.

His father and I were concerned early in his life that he was having trouble communicating. After a series of evaluations and tests, Stephen was referred to TEACCH for further evaluations and therapy. He was officially diagnosed as having "high-functioning autism" when he was less than two years old. When he was just three years old he went through Auditory Integration Training which is designed to normalize hearing if distortions in hearing are thought to be a significant contributing factor to autistic behavior. The professionals have now diagnosed him as having "Aspergers' Syndrome" which is a label they didn't have yet when he was younger. However, I still believe he is hyperlexic. Children with hyperlexia demonstrate an intense fascination with letters, numbers, patterns and logos, and reveal a self-taught, precocious ability to read, spell, write and/or compute (usually before the age of five). They have difficulty developing language and communication skills and often exhibit unusual behaviors or interests. I'm not sure what all of this means. I only know that he is progressing beautifully. He is enrolled in a special third grade class for language impaired students and is "mainstreamed" half the day. I have great hopes for Stephen. He is exceptionally bright and unfailingly cheerful!