This is Ian with his awesome service dog, Roscoe. Ian is an adorable boy who loves to jump, hang, climb and play like any other energetic 7-year-old. Ian was diagnosed with autism in October 2007. We later received the 22q11 diagnosis in August 2010 while testing for mitochondrial disorder through a genetic specialist in Atlanta named Dr. Fran Kendall. The Emory 22q clinic helped us from there. It has been hard for us to discern what issues are treatable and which are not, since most of Ian’s impairment is cognitive and neurological. We see an autism specialist and are also in contact with CHOP 22q clinic to learn of new developments for the subset of kids with autism & 22q combined. We adore Ian just as he is, and feel very blessed that God chose us to be his family. He brings us a lot of joy! At the same time, we strive to do all we can to help Ian so he can live a full life.