When a toddler showed developmental delays, his father knew whom to call. They were people he'd known for years.

Shortly before Ethan turned 2, my sister remarked that his behavior seemed like that of a much younger child. Although the idea was hard to accept, we knew there were some things that made our son difficult to handle. He was unable to adapt to sudden change and was upset by being touched. He did not interact at all when he was with other children.

Mary Remhoff, left, with Jessica Mack
and Sun Mi Kim.

It was devastating when our pediatrician suggested that Ethan might have a low form of autism. A neurologist agreed that there were immaturity and rigidity issues. The physicians suggested a number of resources. But I knew exactly where to turn. As a professional photographer, for years I've been photographing the 'angels' of VNACJ to help tell their story. Now I realized that the angels were also here for us.

I called VNACJ and spoke with Mary Remhoff, manager of the Special Child Health Services case management program that also includes the Early Intervention program for children under three who have special needs. Mary responded immediately. Ethan was tested and found to have PDD: pervasive developmental disorder. At 22 months of age he tested at about a 10-month level in some areas.

VNACJ sent us Early Intervention specialists who work with children on the autism spectrum. They are Jessica Mack, a special education teacher, Caryn Worth, a speech/language pathologist, and Annie Petterson, an occupational therapist. Sun Mi Kim is the program supervisor. Together they help Ethan to express his needs and wants, and learn from his surroundings. We enrolled Ethan in daycare to give him more contact with other children. Lori and I, the daycare teachers, and members of our family are also part of the team that is helping Ethan to develop new skills.

The three therapists work with him at the daycare center on weekdays and at home on Saturday. Just six months after therapy began, Ethan is meeting developmental benchmarks in all areas but speech, which is slightly delayed. And we see great improvement in his behavior.

It would have been impossible for us to coordinate everything without Mary and VNACJ. But I know the level of care and attention we received is the same that others receive, because I've seen it over and over again. We've been told that we did the best thing for Ethan by getting him help early. We would say to others, 'If you want the highest quality of care for your family, this is the phone call to make'."