When Judy Sharp was told by doctors that her three-year-old son Tim would be "unfeeling and incapable of love", she refused to accept those limitations.
In the years after his autism diagnosis, Tim began using drawings to communicate with his mum, sharing his feelings, sense of humour and love for her.
Whether it's romantic, platonic, heartbreaking or surprising, our Love Story series is about love in all its forms. Share yours with us.
These are Judy and Tim's words.
'What's wrong with your son?'
Judy: When Tim was born in 1988, it was the best day of my life, my heart was ready to burst.
It was the same day the queen was opening the new Parliament House in Canberra, so I thought this is a very special day.
It wasn't easy after he was born, the first thing I noticed was he didn't sleep.
He was distressed all the time, constant crying and unsettled. As he got older, he had to keep moving, he couldn't stay in the same room as people, and he only ate a few foods.
These were unusual things to me that I didn't understand.
The most common thing that was said to me at the time was, "What's wrong with your son?"
The doctors kept saying, "wait till he's three, to see a specialist".
So, the appointment was made for the day after his third birthday and that was the worst day ever.
Don't tell me that boy doesn't love me
Judy: They sent us to a doctor who was supposed to be the best specialist.
He diagnosed Tim with autism and just wrote him off.
He told me all the things that Tim would never do, that he would be unfeeling and incapable of love.
I had a physical reaction, not only mental and emotional, but it was like someone was sucking the life out of me.
So, by the time I got out of that doctor's office and to the car, I was hysterical.
I'm putting Tim into his little car seat and he's patting me on the back and wiping away my tears.
And I wanted to march back in there and say, "You tell me that boy doesn't love me."
This was perfect love and I knew that little boy loved me.
And I was going to keep on loving him no matter what anyway.
The birth of Laser Beak Man
Judy: One of the things the specialist said to me was that Tim would not speak.
But when he was five, he started to draw.
So, by accident, we started to draw to communicate between the two of us.
And it turned out that Tim had this natural ability for drawing, we thought, "he's got talent".
So, every day, the house was covered in pens, papers, I never put them away.
Then he did start speaking. And when he was 11, he started walking around the house saying, "When I grew up, I'm going to be Laser Beak Man" — a superhero he had created.
He's not a classic superhero; he's one defined by Tim in a different way and he's got a very unique way of looking at life.
And Laser Beak Man has taken us on a journey that no-one ever could have imagined; from New York, London, the Sydney Opera House, TV, theatre, movies, you name it.
We've travelled the world with Laser Beak Man and met so many people and Tim's had so many opportunities and things that we never thought would have been possible in any way, shape or form.
Tim: [Drawing] makes me happy and I relax doing it. I can have fun with it. I can use my big imagination.
[Mum and I] made the Laser Beak Man theatre show come true and went to New York with it. He's a superhero and he's really awesome.
Love is everything, I feel it in everything
Tim: I love that Mum is a good friend and a good mother to me.
She takes care of me.
She is a kind mum.
She sits with me and we don't even talk sometimes, we like being together.
I tell her I love her all the time. I like to help her and make her happy, I like to buy her some flowers and Maltesers.
Love is everything. I feel it in everything. You can see it and hear it. It makes life better and happy.
Judy: Tim and I spend most of our time together and I find that a very, very easy thing to do, to be with him.
He's patient and he's kind.
I love that he thinks another way because it makes me think other ways.
I love his natural ability to want to connect with people.
And it's really inspiring to watch him do that in his own way without trying to be like anyone else.
And he will frequently tell me that he loves me.
At the end of the day, he'll say to me, "I've had a really good day with you, Mum. We're a great team."
You don't even get that in a marriage.
The best thing you can do in life is just follow Tim's example; be brave, be yourself and show the world who you really are.
