PALMER, Mass. (WWLP) - Families who love someone with autism gathered in Palmer Saturday for their big kickoff event leading up to their awareness walk in September.

Every 11 minutes, a family receives the devastating diagnosis that their child falls within the autism spectrum. For Luisa Balula of Ludlow, that day came when son Lucas was four.

He just didn't progress. He was talking, playing, but he wasn't going past two-year-old words, she said.

But Luisa's nightmare grew worse. Within two years she learned her younger son Daniel also suffers from autism.

Worse than ever. My life was worse than ever. I found out and I couldn't do nothing about it, she said.

Families who love someone with autism struggle with the full time job of keeping their child safe and trying to meet their many needs. Some of those needs are ones that parents have to guess.

Him not speaking, not telling me what's going on. When he's crying you don't know why he's crying, Luisa said.

As a single mother, Luisa relies on her family and friends for support. Her friend Nancy wishes people realized they can ask questions.

She'd rather someone ask what's going on instead of staring and thinking her kids aren't behaving. They are behaving, they're just being them, said Nancy Rodrigues of Ludlow.

Luisa's one hope is for autism awareness to grow, so that when her boys are just being themselves, they'll be understood and accepted.

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Autism awareness event held