Editor's note: You can follow the Bilsons' progress on CNN American Morning 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. through February 4. Mary Bilson tries to contain her autistic daughter Marissa's tantrum, as Marissa's brother Brendan looks on. Seal Beach, CALIFORNIA (CNN) -- The Bilson family is like many other families: three kids, a cat, and a small, lovely home with lots of family photos and carved wooden wall signs with sayings like "Live, Laugh, Love." But step inside their house after 4 p.m. most weekdays and you'll want to cover your ears because of the noise -- the screaming, to be exact. These are not the shouts of sibling rivalry or parental annoyance. This is the high-pitched, ear-shattering sound of a 13-year-old girl. More accurately, it is the sound of a frustrated, irritated, very loud teenager with autism.
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CDC: Autism and related disorders affect one out of every 150 children
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Each autistic child is unique in his or her behavior, but there are common threads
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Social skills, communication are common problem areas
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Marissa screams, throws tantrums -- behavior her family hopes to change
Bilsons
But before you sit in judgment of the @placeholder, and suggest they just need a firm hand to keep their middle child in line, consider one thing: They are trying to cope with a child with severely impaired social sensibilities.
Mary Bilson
Bilson
It was OK when she was much younger, but now that she's going to be an adult soon, she can't be behaving this way," @placeholder says with tired resignation.