After living with a brother who has autism for 19 years, awareness drifts into the haze of unnecessary things. The important thing is whether Jason will eat today. If he eats, will he regurgitate it as he ritualistically does? Will he bend and contort his body or thrust his fingers into his eyes? Will today be the day Jason will talk to us?

My family -- three children raised by a single father -- has dealt with everything imaginable. My twin brother and I weren't easy, and Jason can be quite difficult. Yet he has been the most influential force in my life. At times when I wanted to give up on him, he wouldn't let me. When I wanted to give up on myself, the perseverance I learned from implementing therapies into Jason's life taught me never to quit. When I was so tired and frustrated from being kicked out of my own bed and couldn't sleep all night, I prayed for peace in his heart.

You see, when you know someone with autism, they teach you things you can't teach yourself (especially things like how to eat an entire box of 24 Popsicles in one sitting). When Steve, my twin, and I were at each other's throats over who had to watch Jason, there seemed to be no hope for us as a family. My father is a saint for advocating the best for all of us, not just Jason, and for coping instead of moping.

Now Steve and I are 21 years old and Jason lives in a group home, one of the best in the world in my opinion. He has had a chance to become more independent as we change how we treat people with autism. I work mornings on the front lines; as an office assistant in an autism clinic, I hear from families going through the same things our family went through. It fills my heart to know all the struggles they will overcome.

I also work with children with developmental disabilities. There is no doubt that Jason has made me who I am today. I wouldn't change a thing about how I grew up, or the way we loved him no matter what.

Parents worry that the siblings of children with autism will grow up to resent them or their sibling. This is simply not true. I owe many of the successes in my life to strengths I acquired working through, not dealing with, people with autism.

Jason is aware of much more than most people think. So are the other children out there in the same circumstance. Let them know how much you love them. Let others know how much they mean to you and your family. Most importantly, let April be Courage Awareness Month because without it, society will never learn to have compassion and understanding for these people, who are blessed with much more potential we have yet to understand.