Autistic student will be class salutatorian in Rhode Island high school | Autism Support Network

Autistic student will be class salutatorian in Rhode Island high school | Autism Support Network

This is an amazing story and I have to share it with all of my readers. You can read the full article for yourself, but I will give you a condensed version. 18 year old Eric Duquette will graduate from his high school as salutatorian and go on to study biology at Rhode Island College.

When Eric was first diagnosed with autism as a toddler, his parents were told "that
that it was likely Eric would have to be institutionalized as an adult"(AutismSupportNetwork). Instead, as an adult, he will be going to college. What really touches me about this story is that I was told the same thing before my son was even diagnosed.

At 10 months of age, my son's doctor told me that my son would be slow in school. She said he would never function at his age level. I remember how devastated I was to hear this. I also didn't understand how she could make such a statement regarding a 10 month year old. As far as she was concerned, my son was mentally retarded. He needed a developmental evaluation, but would have to wait until he was 1 year old to get one.

It took several years, several different doctors, and I learned that she was completely wrong. I knew in my heart she was, but it wasn't until my son was 5 that he received a diagnosis of ASD. Now, at age 11, I am still struggling with my son's abilities and disabilities. I would like him to receive ABA therapy, but it is not offered for children my son's age. It is only offered in my area to preschool aged children and under.

I hope that my son will some day be able to go to college. However, I do no see that happening if he they continue to deny him the services he needs. I have not given up. I will continue to fight for them. I will continue to fight for him. In the meantime, he has excellent therapists and I continue to work with him at home. My son is not a lost cause, and his future is not set in stone. There's no predicting where he will be in the future and what he will be doing.