My daughter, Arienne, was diagnosed with autism when she was 6. She could only talk by shrieking, grunting, and pulling on people. But we were encouraged when a neuropsychiatrist recommended specific educational services to help Arienne learn to communicate. We were devastated when our local school district denied our request for services, saying Arienne was basically too developmentally delayed to benefit from any autism services. But thanks to SVCLS, a lawyer helped convince the district to allow her a comprehensive program of autism-related services. Arienne has made incredible progress.  Just this month, she let me know her favorite color is purple. ~ Susan