As much as I wish I could speak for Shelby (my niece who has Autism, age 6)... I can't.

And as much I wish I could scream and shout for all of the injustices that she and her parents have had to deal with on a daily basis... that wouldn't do any good either.

So, from my faraway corner of the world (Jim and I don't live anywhere near Shelby's family), I seem to find some peace and satisfaction when I can share some of the specific things that have helped to clarify things for me a bit. Or have helped me find an even greater sense of hope for Shelby's future.

Did you know?...

We all have a little bit of autism in us.

What varies is the degree to which we are autistic.

That's right. Most people are familiar with those whose level of autism prevents them from functioning... or communicating... or experiencing emotions... or completing different tasks. That is the type of autism see all the time and struggle to understand.

But the fact of the matter is, they have actually determined that we are all autistic to some extent.

Personally, I am glad to know that. Because it means the people I know who have been labeled by the professionals as "autistic" are really not that different from you and me.

See what your autism quotient is...

Are you good with numbers?

I bet you're not as good with numbers as Daniel Tammet is!

Nor, do you see numbers in quite the same way as he sees numbers.

Who is Daniel Tammet, you ask?

As many of you know, we have a 5-year-old niece who is Autistic. She's as sweet as can be.

Thanks to years of help from the Cleveland Clinic, she has made dramatic improvements -- and she continues to do so, on a daily basis.

But I changed my way of thinking about Autism last Christmas when Jim's parents shared with everyone a photocopied list of "10 Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew".

What started as a 2-sentence phrase about something I learned about Autism for the next edition of What I Learned This Week has turned into full-fledged entry instead...

If you're at all interested in Autism, then read on.