RACINE - Cindy Schultz has been fighting locally to keep autism in the public eye ever since doctors diagnosed her son Gavin with autism when he was 3.

Gavin is 10 now. Since her son's diagnosis, Schultz has organized a support group to help families of children with autism.

The Autism Society of America has recognized National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States recognizes April as a special opportunity to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community.

Schultz runs Autism Solutions for families of children with autism and other special needs. She hopes she can save people a little bit of time knowing what she knows from her own experience.

"Getting that first diagnosis is crushing," she says. "Parents often don't know where to turn."

Schultz is also active with the nonprofit A.N.G.E.L. Inc., which offers grants to help families pay for needed autism therapies and treatment that insurance does not cover.

For more about both groups, visit http://www.angelautismnetwork.org or http://www.autismsolutions.jimdo.com.

Schultz recently talked about being a parent of an autistic child.

What are some of the biggest challenges of parenting a child with autism?

I think basically not having enough funding to cover the needed therapies. I hear that quite often. People just don't understand what we go through.

A lot of people can't afford to pay out of pocket. A lot of parents feel that their children are just slipping through the cracks at schools.

The teachers aren't quite understanding or fully trained and it's a matter of getting schools to be able to teach them and know how to redirect them. The therapy children get in the schools is just not enough.

How are the local services for families of children with autism?

You start out with the birth-to-3 program. Then you get them into the early childhood program at school. Then you get on the waiting list

There are a lot of providers, but there aren't enough occupational therapists and speech therapists. The demand is too high.

What is the one thing you would like people to know about what it is like to be a parent of a child with autism?

It is very stressful. It seems like there is a fight. I hate the word fight, but there is no other word for it. You are either fighting the pediatrician, or you're playing this waiting game, "OK who is going to see what I see?" Then you're fighting to see when they will get the treatment they need.

Then you get into the school system and you have to fight to get your children more speech therapy or more occupational therapy or more specialized gym.

Then you fight the government for more money to help these children in the schools and for in-home therapy.

It's a constant struggle to do the daily routine of typical stuff.

What do your groups locally Autism Solutions and A.N.G.E.L do?

We do a monthly support group on the second Tuesday of every month. We do different gatherings and family days to get families out and together.

The divorce rate is high because it can be financially and emotionally draining. We host fundraising events to help families.

Why is Autism Awareness Month important?

Not everybody knows what autism really is. If you're living it 24-7 you can't forget.

Sometimes, as parents, we'll be out in public and we'll get the look as though we're bad parents.

It's important for the community to realize that we're not bad parents - we're just trying to cope and (our child is) having a meltdown. It is difficult for them to understand what is expected of them.