. >> in a visit last february brandon kramer gave "america tonight" a guided tour of his world as an autistic adult. >> this is my entertainment center and my chair and my bed and my light. and another -- my computer table and -- >> oh, nice. >> reporter: on his own for 16 years. brandon treasured his independence. >> yes, i like it a lot because i can like come and go as i please. i don't have to worry about -- and i just feel happier. >> and you don't have to worry about somebody checking up on you, you're your own man. >> exactly. >> one of his favorite gadgets was this bright red button. famous from a television commercial. they said it brightens his mood. >> that was easy. >> and i have this too. >> but things were not easy for brandon or his mother amalia. as a newborn he was tiny, barely five pounds and from the time brandon was a toddler his mother knew he wasn't developing like other children. >> i noticed his speech or lack of it. words would come out jumbled mixed up. i thought though when he was two and a half it would be really a good thing for me to put him in preschool