Jenny's son, Evan

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Jenny says every instinct she had was telling her that her son was not epileptic—so she went for a second opinion.

After spending 20 minutes with Evan, a neurologist gave Jenny what she describes as a devastating diagnosis—Evan had autism. "And boy, my mommy instinct said, 'This man is right,'" she says.

Jenny says hearing the words made her feel "like death." "[The doctor] said, 'Hey, don't forget. This is the same little boy you came in this room with. He's not any different. He's the same boy,'" she says. "And, true, he was correct. He was the same boy. But I did happen to say, 'Well, I believe my son is trapped inside. I'm not settling for this.'"

In hindsight, Jenny realizes she missed signs of Evan's autism—such as his obsession with moving objects. Others had noticed something different about Evan, too. "My mother-in-law said, 'He doesn't really show affection,' and I threw her out of the house," Jenny says. "I went to a play gym, and the woman [there] said, 'Does your son have a brain problem?' ... [I said], 'How dare you say something about my child? I love him. He's perfect. You can't say that about a child.' I just had no idea."