[Skip to Navigation]
On My Mind
May 2014

Anthony’s Story

Author Affiliations
  • 1Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
  • 2Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • 3Lurie Children’s Pediatrics–Uptown, Chicago, Illinois
JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168(5):403. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.154

Anthony is a 7-year-old autistic boy with the most beautiful hazel eyes and the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen. I’ve been his pediatrician since he was an infant. He was born with a hemangioma on the tip of his nose that required high-dose steroids, so he was a huge baby, difficult to carry, hard to console. As he became older, it became evident that he was on the low-functioning end of the autistic spectrum. He did not walk until he was 4 years old. He is still not able to talk.

Add or change institution
×