By April T. Giauque


When our son was diagnosed with autism, I prayed to know how to "fix" him. But I soon learned that he was not broken.

Garrett, an 11-year-old boy with autism, experiences the world with a mixture of pain and agitation every morning, every afternoon, every waking hour. He is hypersensitive to many of the sounds, textures, and sights to which all of us are exposed daily, but for him, such exposure leaves him anxious. Wouldn't you seek to shut off the pain and the agitation? It makes sense that Garrett is trying to do just that—stop the sound, sensation, sight, and nausea that interrupt his daily life. I've worked with Garrett since he was a day old. Garrett is my son.

Of course, not all people with autism experience or react to it the same way Garrett has. The manifestations of autism are different for each person. But because Heavenly Father knows all of us, He will guide us as parents, leaders, teachers, and physicians to know how to best reach His children, including those with disabilities. He has done that for me. Here, I wish to tell a little bit about Garrett's experience with autism and how Heavenly Father has helped us better understand our son—who was first His son.

Garrett is one of five children born to my first husband and me. The first three of our children, including Garrett, have autism spectrum disorders. My first instinct as a mother is to hold and wrap a child in warmth, in touch, with life. Mothers want to protect their children, teach them, and interact with them in the form of cooing, smiles, hugs, tears, and kisses. And it's natural to expect some type of response to all that you are giving your child. But from the very beginning, Garrett has been hypersensitive to sound, touch, smells, and food textures. As a toddler and young child, he recoiled at touch, vomited most foods, and buried his head, face, and body into stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets.