Patrick Buttell, a native of Minneapolis, Minn., came into this world in 1942. Raised in his parents’ Midwestern home, Buttell had two older brothers and three sisters. Out of the six children in his family, Buttell was born the second youngest of the group.

In 1908, the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler first used the word “Autism,” employing it to describe a set of unusual symptoms in his patients. Thirty-five years later in a 1943 medical paper, Leo Kanner, M.D., described and recorded 11 cases of highly intelligent, socially withdrawn children. In the course of Kanner’s work, Donald Triplett, a brilliant 10-year-old boy from Forest, Miss., was recorded as “Case 1”- the first-ever diagnosis of autism. While these moments in history mark an early stage in knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), our understanding of the disorder has grown tremendously over the years. More so than ever before, there are numerous groups, organizations and programs to aid families and help those with ASD. Even with many resources available however, there are still too many who suffer silently. To bring awareness to this social issue, April has been designated as Autism Awareness Month.