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FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- Autism has been in the spotlight here in the Heartland after the tragic death of a young child in northeast Missouri just last week.    

One family in southeast Iowa wanted to share their story about their son, Cannon. Cannon, who is 9 years old, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 5. Since his diagnosis, his family’s entire life changed.

“They look like everyday normal kids, but they have meltdowns. They have other issues going on and you can’t always tell if a child is neurotypical, which means normal everyday kid, or if he is Autistic,” said Tonya, Cannon’s mother.

For the last four years, Tonya and her family have had to adjust to living with a child that has Autism; and that means being prepared for anything, including public meltdowns.

“It not only affects him, it affects his family, his siblings and his friends. We try to nip it in the bud as soon as we see what is happening, but a lot of the time, we can’t, because we don’t always know what the trigger is going to be,” said Tonya.

For Cannon’s father, at times it has been hard to discipline him, being that he wants all of his kids to be treated equally; but he knows that for Cannon, life is more challenging.

“As a parent, you want to be firm, but fair. It is hard for the other kids because he may have something of theirs, and a lot of the time I just say, give it to him, because it is not worth the fight, and a fight for use can ruin the whole day,” said Strider.

If there is one thing that Cannon’s parents want the public to take away from this story, it is that Cannon tries his hardest, and that the public needs to keep an open mind when it comes to people with Autism.

“I guess one of my pet-peeves is people’s ignorance, or the things that they hear and propagate. The whole vaccination debate is really silly. The one guy was trying to sue the companies, and now that is a problem world-wide. Everyone thinks that vaccinations cause Autism, and it’s been disproven a lot,” said Strider.

Cannon’s parents say that he is super intelligent and that he has somewhat of a photographic memory; and that comes in handy during some subjects in school, like reading and writing. That will benefit Cannon in the long-term.

To learn more about Autism, and how you can help others with the disorder, visit Autism Speaks.