Families face challenge of raising autistic children

April marks National Autism Awareness month.

One out of every 100 children are diagnosed every year with autism.

It's a staggering statistic, but a reality for many families raising autistic children.

According to the Autism Society, autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

Autistic specialists at Applied Behavior Center in Oviedo say one of the hardest stages for the caretakers of those diagnosed is the later stages of life, as both the children and their parents get older.

Bobbi Barber, co-owner of the center and who also recently authored the book, Autism, Adolescence & Adulthood, Finding the Path to Independence' says "sometimes they are at a loss for what to do or how to do it."

"A lot of [his] friends kids are getting their driver's licenses and they're going to prom and you’re starting to talk about high school things and that's just not in his future," said Karen Howington, whose son just turned 16.

Howington said she has been preparing Drew for the long term but it's just now becoming reality. 

"He's going to need a lot of care for a really long time and I don't know where that's going to be."