On my first trip to Guatemala in 2005, Pat was accompanying a group of women visiting orphanages . Upon entering one of these “hogars” I was drawn to a four year old sitting in a high chair. Tania had just come to the children’s home, and no one there was quite sure what was wrong with this little one who seemed so disconnected from the world. They feared she, as so many others, had been severely abused. After spending a few hours with Tania, I suspected that Tania had a form of autism, and later assessments confirmed this. A disorder commonly recognized in the United States was totally unknown to these caregivers. Tania today lives in a home operated by my friends at Amor del Niño, and has just begun attending school.
