Year brings changes, challenges for the Dear family, sons with autism

By John Dear
Senior Media Producer, CNN Media Operations

It's been a year since my family had the opportunity to share a day in our lives with CNN viewers, on the first World Autism Awareness Day.  Jonas, the second oldest of our three boys, has autism, and we wanted to show the struggles that families go through when living with the disorder on a daily basis.  We were concerned last year that our youngest son, who was 13 months old at the time, might be on the autism spectrum as well. Our worst fears were confirmed five months later when Rasmus got a formal diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Jonas, 3 (left), Magnus, 6, and Rasmus, 2

For one year, we drove Jonas more than four hours a day, five days a week to get applied behavior analysis therapy, which helped him tremendously. This was no longer an option. Last summer, we rented out our house and moved closer to the school that Jonas and now Rasmus attend at Emory University in Atlanta. Moving out of our home was a tough decision, but the advantages of being closer to their school and my work far outweighed any other factors.

We are bombarding our kids with ABA, speech and occupational therapy. We have a lot on our plate and it's a constant struggle to keep up. On top of all that, our oldest son, Magnus, needs just as much attention, which we are mindful of. He has turned out to be his younger brothers’ best teacher, because of their eagerness to impress their big brother.

We are pleased with the results from our early intervention, yet we still have a way to go to get our children mainstreamed. Jonas, who is almost 4 now, is eager to engage and is extremely talkative, although sometimes hard to understand. Rasmus just turned 2 and has benefited tremendously from ABA and speech therapy.

This is without a doubt the hardest thing that my wife and I have ever had to deal with. Not only is the financial reality staggering, the toll that autism has taken on our marriage has been extremely challenging. We've got one nostril above water, but we know in our hearts that we are doing everything we can to give our kids the best chance to live the life they choose.

Has autism touched you somehow? How have you managed the challenges that it can bring? We'd like to know.

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