LAKE IN THE HILLS – Anne Ledwitch recalls a time when she had to tell her 11-year-old son that he couldn’t join a junior hockey league since his autistic brother couldn’t handle traveling to games.

Bruce and Mary Jo Corsaro are aware that their 13-year-old son, Michael, sometimes feels like a only child, since he can’t fully socialize with his 10-year-old brother, Matthew, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 2.

Families such as the Ledwitchs and Corsaros are not alone in grappling with the unique challenges, and rewards, that an autistic child brings.