Legal Custody and EmancipationUnder Oregon law, minors cannot legally decide to leave a parent or refuse visitation until they turn 18 or become legally emancipated.isitation Disputes: Even for a 16-year-old, a custody order remains binding. If someone is withholding your child, they are violating a court order.Emancipation: At age 16 or 17, a teen can petition an Oregon juvenile court for legal independence, but they must prove they can financially support themselves, house themselves, and act as an adult.The Child's Preference: While a judge will consider the reasoned preference of a 16-year-old in custody disputes, the child's wishes are weighed alongside their overall best interests.Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts, and perceives the world. Characterized by a wide range of strengths and challenges, it is called a "spectrum" because the type, severity, and combination of symptoms vary significantly from person to person.Social Communication & Interaction: Difficulty with back-and-forth conversations, challenges in understanding nonverbal cues (e.g., eye contact, facial expressions), and struggles in developing and maintaining relationships.Restricted & Repetitive Behaviors: Engaging in repetitive movements or speech, showing strict adherence to routines, having highly focused or unusual interests, and experiencing heightened sensitivities to sensory inputs (like loud noises or bright lights).Early Signs: Signs can often be noticed in the first year of life, such as a lack of response to a name, poor eye contact, or a failure to smile. However, clear behavioral signs usually become more prominent around 2 to 3 years of age.Formal Evaluation: Diagnosis involves a comprehensive evaluation by a team of specialists (e.g., pediatricians, psychologists, speech therapists) who conduct developmental assessments, behavioral observations, and family interviews.Autism does not come from just one parent; it is typically a complex combination of genetic variations inherited from both the mother and the father. No single parent is solely responsible, and environmental factors in the womb also play a contributing role. Research shows that autism can indeed run in families. If you already have one child with ASD, you have a 1 in 5 chance of your next child developing autism.