I don't know what we would do if we didn't have Trevor in our family.  Our lives would probably be a lot sadder, for one thing.

Trevor, whom we adopted from Georgia as a baby, is quite the little showman.  He loves clowning around for people, yet around people he does not know, he turns quiet, almost shy.  He has never handled strangers all that well.

Trevor was diagnosed with autism at age 22 months.  He had serious delays, especially when it came to social situations.  He found it hard to make friends and change brought temper tantrums and tears.  It was not easy dealing with Trevor at times, but we tried hard to help him in any way we could.

Now Trevor is eight and has grown into a very smart, engaging youngster with a mop of thick dark brown hair, big ice-blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks.  He is a very handsome little guy.  He does fairly well in school, but he is happiest playing all by himself or with a few select friends.  He doesn't handle large groups all that well; this is when he turns shy.

To entertain himself, Trevor loves to build complex jigsaw puzzles, build model airplanes or cars, draw, write stories, read any book he can get his grubby hands on, make mud pies, play hackysack or do shadow puppets, and collect rocks and shells whenever we go to the beach.  He will interact with people, but only if it's people he knows.  He has to be in the mood.

It is not easy having a child with autism, but compared to many others, Trevor does quite well.  He doesn't really have a lot of the quirks a lot of other kids with autism have, such as the hand flapping, abnormal fixations or food choices, temper tantrums, or wild, repetative behaviors.  He is like any other child excepting for being extremely shy around strangers or his learning disabilities.

Trevor is our youngest.  In addition to him, we have another son, Mychael, who is 11 (and Trevor's best buddy).  They get along quite well with one another and Mychael will do anything to defend his brother.  We are very proud of them both.

Well, we have church tonight, so we must go.  I will write in here again soon; this will not be the last time you will hear from us!  Take care and may God bless you as much as He's blessed us with our two beautiful boys!

~Sincerely, Nelda Jenks, Moore, Oklahoma.