One day, he was leading a full and active life, and the next day he suddenly found himself flat on his back in the hospital, he thought his life was coming to an end. Ben was still considered to be exceptional when he came to his visual skills, music, and intellectual abilities. However, he noticed verbal communication was not easy for him. Still, he was very good with structure and repetitive task, but was not good at expressing himself verbally.

Ben Crawford reports, he was diagnosed with autism. When he would try to talk to people, Ben says that he felt far more than physical weakness, dizziness, acute chest pain, and sometimes would physically collapse. This condition forced him to reassess his life because it struck him in the prime of his life, and he never had any serious health problems.

Ben soon discovered that Christi had become pregnant with his child. Ben wondered if he could return to work? How would he support his family? And how would he relate to his spouse and children? What about his favorite activities? What about his sex life? Autism, for Ben, was both physical and an emotional trauma, and the emotional scars were very serious. Warm, interpersonal support is a critical element in the recovery process.

Christi figured Ben’s life was over and that he would not amount to much, so she divorced him, and took his son and moved into a new house. When Ben would go visit his son, the boy would not talk to him because Christi had poisoned his mind and told him that his father was just pumping him for information. One day, when Ben returned to Hawaii, his father came to the house, and found Christi was involved with a new man, an African American man, and he accepted that and thought that they were friends.

Ben approached his son, Tom, and told him: I am your father and would love to talk to you. I read the letters you wrote me and I would like to take you so see an Oakland A’s game. So they two went to watch the game. Tom had to pee, so Ben took him to the bathroom. However, there was the large sink urinal, where everyone would just stand and pee. And Ben got so embarrassed because after Tom finished urinating, he was looking at the penis of the guy next to him. He had never seen one so large and was fascinated. Ben made Tom wash his hands and the two quickly left the restroom.

Ben dropped Tom off back at home, and the next week when he came to see his son, no one would open the door, but they were home. Christi was very upset that Tom and his father were getting along so well, she feared that if he wanted his son back, the child support would get cut off, and she would not be able to afford the house. Ben had gotten a new job as a sales man, and was doing well, despite the fact that he had autism. However, he had a lack of contact with his friends and neighbors—and his son.

The intervals between visits became stretched and finally contact ceased entirely. Time got long, and feelings of loneliness and desertedness presented themselves. It was a very interesting and challenging year. Ben states: my son and I had a very affectionate life, he was a blessing to me. My health had up to that time been reasonably good, although I had suffered from bellyaches. The doctor told me that being in a loving environment and physical contact, like hugs and handshakes.

So Ben worked up the courage to go collect his son. When he got to the house, Christi’s two fat gay twin brothers jumped him, and told him if he ever came to see his son again, they would pop his cherry, and pound him really good. So Ben discontinued child support payments, and Christi took his son and moved to a three-bedroom town house in another city. After, child support was cut off, Tom seemed to be unwanted and started getting a lot of bumps and bruises, and even a few threats.

At one point, Tom was even sent to an abusive foster home because Christi’s new husband did not like him. However, Ben was unaware of what was going on because he did not know where his boy was or how to contact him. He kept asking around and someone finally told him they see his son at this one park all the time. So Ben packed his bags, moved near that park, and saw his son. So much time had gone by, that Tom did not recognize his dad.

And you might be expected things to go smoothly, but they did not. After he finally realized that was his father looking at him, others soon discovered that Ben and his father reunited. Tom’s mother Christi assured him, “He will never see his son again!” And she threatened to have him killed or arrested if he went near his son again. And the two fat gay twin brothers started patrolling the park. So Ben got ghost, but he did not give up, and promised he would rescue his baby.