It’s always hard to live with small children in the house, but I don’t think people really know the difficulties until they have a child or a sibling with a disability. My brother, Jakob O'Hare, is twelve years old, and he has autism. I think he was diagnosed with autism when he was three.

When you look at him, you see a normal happy kid; it's just his mind that doesn't move as fast as everyone else's. It's sometimes hard to understand what he is trying to say, but once you're around him for a little bit, you start to catch on to how he pronounces things.

When he gets frustrated or excited he tends to stutter a little, which makes his speech slightly harder to understand. Jakob will sometimes do unusual things to get attention from me, my mom, or his school teachers. He tends to think that acting up badly will get him the attention he wants. The only male semi role model he has is my boyfriend John, because he is always at the house.

Sometimes John will play basketball outside with him, or he'll do something in the house that Jakob wants to do. Jakob is pretty popular with my friends. They'll joke around with him, and have a good time. All my friends love him, and I'm really happy to see he has older kids to protect or help him whenever he needs it. It's really nice to see him smile and have fun.

The hardest part of it is seeing how he struggles to make and keep friends. It breaks my heart to see him sit alone outside or be teased by kids who don't understand why he doesn't speak so well, or why he doesn't understand some things.

All he wants to do is be a part of something, whether in school or at home. I try my best to get him more involved or spend more time with him. It makes me really nervous to think about him starting middle school, and i get close to having a anxiety attack when i think about him starting high school.

I'll see how kids treat some of the other kids who have a mental disability and I fear that's how it will be when he gets into school. I just hope that people will love him just as much as my family and friends do. It’s always important to learn about something you aren’t familiar with.

People with autism face enough obstacles and shouldn’t have to deal with the ignorance of people as well.