HARPERS FERRY -- "I've had so many people tell me, 'He's normal. He'll outgrow it,'" said Harpers Ferry resident Sherri Savage about her son, Seth, who was diagnosed with autism in the fourth grade.

She finds these assumptions concerning, as they reflect a severe lack of understanding of the developmental disorder.

"People don't understand autism, especially when it is high functioning," Savage said. "He masks all day long. People don't realize that when he returns home and is in a safe space, he is no longer fighting his instincts to behave in a socially acceptable way. If you spent an hour at home with him, you would quickly realize his is not neurotypical."

Her now 20-year-old son has graduated from high school and works a full-time job -- something others with more severe symptoms o

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