No one is too old to be a student. Life throws different situations at you that have profound long-term effects. My children are the greatest teachers. I never knew I would research and become an expert in why penguins fly spaceships in cartoons, how to talk in 101 silly voices, why big-eyed vegetables make kids laugh, how to stand perfectly still when your six-year old is practicing his karate kicks; and how to show fatherly love to three exceptional children.

Robbie is six years of age and the oldest. He has the deepest compassion of any first-grader I know. He knows all of the rules and enforces them judiciously. When you ask him how he is doing he shouts joyfully, "Super excellent." Sarah is our youngest. She is very smart and already very pretty. She is maturing gracefully into her mother. I don't know how she can use her hand with me so tightly wrapped around her finger. Jacob is our middle child. He is fun, loving, full of energy, very handsome and autistic. He can defy gravity and laugh at life in general.

When I was talking with a friend about his newly diagnosed Autistic son, I realized how much I learned about Autism in the past three and half years since our diagnosis. I could empathize with my friend's emotions as a father and his passion to find a cure. He probably sounds very much like I did in our first year. Our family experience has allowed me to understand and give counsel to my friend and others.

By no means am I declaring myself a "Subject Matter Expert" in Autism, but there are some areas in which I have become much better than I had ever expected.

One area is communication. Jacob's inability to communicate "normally" showed me how to use different methods to reach into an unclear world. I may have to use a picture, gestures, written communication, speech, rhymes or all of the above at one time. We have become very creative in our approach to teaching. I also learned that every situation and every person requires a different model.

If I extend this principle into the every day world, I can look beyond personalities and listen carefully to their real need. Now I am able to better express my intentions and send a message to diverse people using different methods.

The better the communication, the better the love. I have grown to love more and more.

My wife and I show love to Jacob in many ways, but mostly by attending to his needs. I do not understand why it is taking three years to potty-train Jacob, but I know that I'm prepared to take 30 years. He is worth it.

In most children love is caught, not taught. With Jacob, love has to be taught. He learns by routine and habit. I give our children butterfly kisses daily to show them my approval. We used to think Jacob gave them specifically because he enjoys to be tickled. We didn't know if he knew how to express his love.

One day, he came into the kitchen and grabbed his mother's hand and reached for mine. He pushed us close together and positioned us to pick him up to our level with his mom's hand under his one arm and mine under the other. When all of our faces where touching he said, "kiss" and we did. I cried, laughed and kissed. Jacob told us to butterfly kiss and we did. He knows how to love.

Love is the eternal reason why I do what I do. God is love and He has shown me through Jacob how to love others more deeply and sincerely.

Love and communication are the blessings I received from this wonderful person. What Jacob has taught me is to communicate better, love deeper and share blessings with others. As with all of our children, Jacob is one of my best teachers. Thank you Jacob.