About Conor

Conor was diagnosed at 4 years with autism. As a baby, we always he was a bit different, but since he was our first child, we didn’t think much about it. Of course, we attributed his “unique” behavior as that of a genius child. 🙂

Our pediatrician told us he was fine and that he would grow out of his “quirks”. We ended up taking him to a specialist anyway and as a result, Conor got early intervention before 18 months. It hasn’t been easy for him or for us, but he has continued to improve and is now talking in short sentences, going to school in an inclusion program at Barton Creek Elementary and is thriving in a new private speech therapy program. He has a long way to go, but we are blessed to see him move forward, no matter how big or small those steps are.

Conor is very gifted with computers and ipads. We are grateful he is so interested in learning new things on these devices and they help his fine motor skills as well as his cognitive skills.

Today Conor receives speech and occupational therapy privately as well as at school. He continues to have tantrums and has started to “wander” off, which is a new challenge for us. He has a tendency to run into the road, regardless of traffic, and slips away whenever he can. We have had to put new locks on our doors at home that are high up so he can’t reach them and run out the door.

We are raising money for an autism assistance dog that is trained specifically for Conor. This dog will help calm him during stressful times, apply deep pressure during tantrums by leaning against him or on him, which is soothing to him. The dog will also keep him from wandering off by herding him back or going with him to keep him safe until help comes.

To donate to help Conor get his dog, please go to our donation site.