Autism: It's Personal

Jason Louden with his service dog.

HOLLAND, Mich. -- There’s a saying: “If you meet one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” Cathy Louden said.

Autism is a term used for complex disorders of brain development and symptoms tend to be very personal and different for each person.
“These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors,” the Autism Society of West Shore website said.
In Loudin's home it rings true, she and her husband, Shawn Loudin and their two boys, Jason, 8, and Andrew, 11, are all have autism — and they are all very different, she said, each with their own needs, their own quirks.