This is Tobey Jude. He is 4 years old, soon to be 5, and he is autistic. He is more on the severe side of the spectrum as opposed to my other son, Edwin.

There are a couple of things you should know about Tobey. First, he defies most autistic conventions by being one of the most loving little dudes you have ever met. Also, he likes to stim.

In the world of autism, stimming is an activity that calms down the autist's brain, almost like chanting a mantra. Tobey's preferred activity to stim is spinning things.

The boy spins everything. Straws, pencils, unused maxi pads, leaves, kittens (we caught him in the nick of time), cars, shoes, paper...etc. I mean, really, he will spin ANYTHING.

Why post this picture? Why tell you about "The Jude"? Because he is awesome! He is one of those kids that you can watch and actually see his brain working. Example:

Last week, the kids had sample packs of crayons. They were little packs of three crayons each. Tobey picked up a pack of crayons and shook it. It rattled. He handed the box to Melissa. Now, it is important to note that at this point, he did not know what was in the box. He just assumed it was candy. When Melissa opened the box, he dumped out the crayons and realized that this was not candy. He slowly put the crayons on the counter and walked away.

I guess that is the frustrating part about autism. My son, my gorgeous, awesome son, is trapped inside of his head. I just know that if he can break through that wall, he is going to change the world!!