Imagine being in Japan when your child was diagnosed with autism. For Nancy, who first realized something was different about her son Austin shortly after he learned to walk, the day she realized he had autism was the "worst day of her life." "As desperately as I wanted to believe differently, I knew in my heart that Austin's was a most severe case of autism and all our lives were going to be changed forever," said Nancy.

Austin was one of the first children to attend Firefly Autism, known as the Aspen Center for Autism at the time. At first Nancy wasn't sure what options would be available to her child. She even become a BCBA (board certified behavior analyst) believing that she would have to create Austin's education program herself. "Around that time, I met Diane Osaki and through her Craig Miller (Firefly's first president). Her powerful vision and absolute belief in children's potential, my commitment to Austin's education, the character of people of like Diane and Craig, and the great need for the Center - all these things coming together was nothing short of a miracle. Without thinking really, I threw my heart and my hope in with the start-up known as Aspen Center."

Austin attended Firefly for two years, beginning as a "fussy, frustrated little guy who didn't smile" into a child who smiles, laughs, uses a computer, goes to movies with his family and climbs 14ers. "Given his level of impairment, the development of his social nature was the single most transformative aspect of his time with the Firefly team...Although being able to talk is apparently not part of Austin's life plan, he has developed a fine repertoire of functional communication skills...None of these skills just 'developed' with maturation -all took the efforts of a dedicated team."