Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD)

The playground is a symbol of childhood, a dream of brightly colored slides and ladders, merry-go-rounds and swings. But for some children, like Aidan Gaiser, playgrounds don’t hold the promise of fun. When Aidan was a toddler, he would hover at the edge of the playground, not sure how to play.

His hesitation was a sign of a bigger issue. For his age, Aidan seemed like most children. He knew about seven words, he responded when someone said his name, and he was developing very typically. But then he started to regress, and at 22 months old, he was diagnosed with autism.