Mom Next Door: Meet Autumn Green

• Pleasant Hill wife to Jacob

• Mom to Austin, age 10, and Yaakov, age 8

• Founder of All in Need, a family support and respite program

It was a particularly bad day. Autumn was tirelessly trying without luck to secure help for her son, Yaakov, who had been diagnosed with Asperger's, SPD, spina bifida and learning disabilities. Yaakov's behavior was increasingly difficult: hitting, pushing Autumn down stairs, trying to jump out of the car.

As a recent Bay Area transplant, Autumn had no one to lean on—her family and closest friends still living in Oregon. Exhausted and depleted, Autumn hit the floor, crying. "I said, 'no one will help me,'" Autumn recalls. "And I heard, 'no, but you will be able to help others who are struggling.'"

At that moment in 2007, she realized that while her family struggled to meet Yaakov's special needs, the rest of the family's needs were not being met. And if her family was struggling, others probably were too—and these weary families needed a break!

Now happier and healthier, Autumn is in the building stages, making her idea of support and respite into an official non-profit organization: All in Need. And Yaakov has improved dramatically thanks to speech therapy, OT, PT, tutoring, dedicated teachers, plus family discipline, support and love. "I don't believe I am extraordinary," says Autumn. "Just truly blessed that I have so many people in my life to help make my past pain into something other families of children with special needs can benefit from."

All in Need, Family Support
AllInNeed.org
Facebook.com/AllInNeedFamilySupport

I recommend that local families check out... Buddy Play, a play group started by Bernadette Fatehi, that promotes natural interaction and learning between kids with special needs and their typical peers. Original Pancake House is also highly recommended for hubby-and-me time.

My favorite indulgence is... Starbucks chai tea, reading (I think I may be addicted), milk chocolate.

My best parenting trick... was given to me by my little sister, McKenzie. "Don't forget you have Austin. He may be typical but he needs you, too."

What are you reading? I have the Kindle app, and I have to hide my phone from myself so I don't just read all day! I recently have been reading "Non-Profit Kit for Dummies" and "Fundraising for Dummies." I have also read "Breaking Dawn" about 13 times.

Nothing makes me laugh like... Yaakov saying crazy things like, "Austin, tell your teacher that you had to learn to speak Asperger's because of me."

Hardly anybody knows I... can roof and wire a house; can change the oil, spark plugs and tires on a car; raced motorcycles. My dad taught my sister and me that we could do anything boys can do. I learned that sometimes I had to work harder to succeed, but I would succeed if I tried—maybe that is why I have never allowed Yaakov's disabilities be anything more than "you will have to work harder to get where everyone else is." That just occurred to me. Wow, thank you, Daddy!

The best part of having a child with special needs is... seeing him succeed in areas that so many people thought he wouldn't. Yaakov has taught me so much about parenting, about loving and about being understanding of other's needs.

The toughest part is... hearing "he looks fine to me." We have worked hard to get him where is today, and I am glad you think he is fine!

What do you know now about parenting a child with special needs that you wish you'd known from the start? When he says he is done... don't push. He is warning you that meltdown is coming.

Ask your kids to describe you in three words... Austin: awesome, strict, complex. Yaakov: mom, mommy, mother.

Who inspires you? Nominate an ordinary--yet extraordinary!--mom or dad by e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .