She can shop at a store with supervision. Who knows, but on a rare occasion, a smile will cross her face, and her mother will know that something has made her happy. Maybe it is completing a puzzle or riding on a golf cart. Maybe it is putting a videotape at the exact spot where she likes it or moving her furniture to just the right spot. Whatever it is, Brittany can be, and often is, happy.
Autism is a terrible thing, but much of the time the autistic child is happy.
We think it is terrible because she doesn't feel the same emotions that we do, participate in the same activities that we do, and function on a daily level as we do. But, for Brittany that is not necessary. Other autistic children, possibly higher functioning than Brittany, like Tony Connor, are verbal, and very much so. Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, both Guarino and Connor long for their children to be normal, for the key to unlock autism to be discovered. And a donation to the Austism Society, or a round of golf at the tournament will give the society that much more money with which to fund research.