A Yonkers family is trying to raise over $100,000 for a college fund for their son with autism.

Marisa Facciponti's son Dylan was diagnosed with autism when he was around 12 months old.

"The light just went out in his eyes. That was the most devastating thing to me as a mom, because this was a little boy who would laugh and giggle and then suddenly it was just taken away overnight,” said Facciponti.

Her son’s condition came with many challenges, including bullying and learning difficulties. Despite those hardships, he beat the odds by regaining verbal skills and being admitted to High Point University in North Carolina, his top choice for college.

According to The Journal Pediatrics, only about 35% of kids with autism go to college.

The family is proud of their son’s accomplishment, but now struggles to fund the upcoming freshman’s education.

Facciponti, a single mother of four, says the help they’ve received from federal funding, grants, and student loans are not enough.

"I'm just making it right now. I don't have savings. I don't have that ability to get my son to where he needs to be,” she said. "It's really heartbreaking to me because he has this opportunity in front of him."

The Facciponti family has opened a fundraising page in the hopes of raising $111,000 for the student’s freshman year by June 1.