Seeing Differently

Sometimes I feel like people look at my son differently. I like different because it would be a really boring world if we were all the same. I am not talking about that kind of different. I am talking about they look at him differently like he isn’t capable of much or there is no hope. That it’s strange that he gets overly excited and makes funny sounds as he jumps up and down, he is non-verbal, he won’t always look you in the eyes or acknowledge you, and sometimes his body isn’t able to do what he would like it to.

He can put numbers in order 1-20 (probably higher if I would give him more numbers), he can put the alphabet in order, and If he is on his tablet he is 10 times more tech savvy than I’ll ever be. When he gets tablet time he is tracing letters, putting words into sentences, spelling, simple math, etc. He loves art and music.

I understand that as his mother I probably will see all the things he can do over what he doesn’t yet. You see that? Yet! I know he will!

It is pretty crazy that as a baby he could wave on cue and now that is something we are working on gaining back after his huge regression. Something that simple, but he is able to do so many educational things that are typical of an almost 3 year old. He is a sensory seeker. Loud noises don’t bother him, he wants to be hugged/touched, he loves to swing, gives lots of love especially if it can get him out of anything (haha), and just loves any fun sensory things. There are obviously a lot of things that he is still very delayed in.

I had a couple of people share with me a video of a woman who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. She remembered when she was younger being what felt like locked on one side of her brain. She wanted to do and say so many things, but her brain and body couldn’t work together to allow her to do so.

Could you imagine being asked to do something and your body isn’t able to respond? You can hear everything and can’t get words out of your mouth?

You can hear people talk about how you can’t do this or that and you couldn’t defend yourself?

The therapist he has been with for over a year sees how far Kellan has come. He knows it’s not only from therapies, but working on Kellan’s medical issues. We are not going to leave a page unturned to help our boy heal and succeed in life. A lot of people haven’t had the pleasure to experience Kellan’s victories like our little family and his therapists have. To the outside he may seem the same just because he is non-verbal, but he has actually made HUGE progress in so many areas. I believe he will gain back what speech he had and a million more words.

As his momma I whisper in his ear “I know you can talk. I know you are capable of anything. I know God is going to use you to glorify his kingdom.” He always looks me straight in the eyes, smiles, and grabs my neck to bring me in for a kiss. (Cue tears)

The moral of this blog is to help you think differently and to speak kind words over our children, especially those with autism. They can hear you. They are brilliant. Some may be so locked in their own world you are going to have to fight fire to bring them into our world, but they are 100% worth fighting for.