When Julian Miozzi was two years old doctors told his parents he was severely autistic and would never speak.
His mother believed she could prove the doctors wrong and with a lot of determination, patience and tough love, she did.
Looking back at videos of himself as a child Julian can hardly believe how much he has changed.
"If it wasn't for my mom's hard work, I probably would not have interacted with the world as much as I do now."
When he was a toddler his parents realized something was wrong.
"We noticed that he wasn't looking at us. I noticed that he was jumping while he was watching TV and flapping his hands, so I mentioned that to my doctor at his two-year checkup," said his mother Nina.
Soon after Julian was diagnosed with a severe form of autism and doctors said he would likely never be able to function in society. They suggested his parents put him in an institution.
"They told me that there was no hope for him, that he would never speak," said Nina. "I was devastated. It hurt."
Still, Nina Miozzi refused to believe that her son wasn't capable of learning.
"I had hope and faith and when I saw him, when I was singing to him Rockabye Baby and he was moving his lips, I said there's something there," said Miozzi.
She turned to Dr. Sylvie Bernard, a psychologist specializing in applied behaviour analysis for help.
Her program is very strict and aimed at changing the behaviour of children with autism. She said that Julian could not comprehend basic human interaction.
"Just asking him to sit down on a chair was very difficult for him. It took us a month to really make him understand the words 'sit down' and 'you need to sit down on a chair' -- so we had to physically help him," said Dr. Bernard.
Unable to understand what was going on Julian was often angry and defiant, throwing tantrums that left his parents questioning their strategy especially when they had to physically restrain him.
"Many times I cried at night to myself, but in my heart I knew that what I was doing. I knew this was going to help him," said Miozzi.
Slowly but surely they started seeing progress.
"I remember the first time we heard his voice, we were all crying and we said, "He's speaking! He said his first word!" Miozzi said.
After years of home schooling and tutoring Julian continues to make remarkable progress and has big plans for the future.
"I want to become the owner of an animation company one day," professes Julian.
His sister Tessa is so inspired she plans to write a book about the family's story, with her mother as be a central character.
"She taught us to have that strength and patience. She is our rock and she's a very strong woman and I really hope I become the mother she is one day too," said Tessa.
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