Autism: And Suddenly You Have Hope for the Moment

Lest I forget, I am writing this post to remember. You see, I forget good things. Life gets in the way, and I don’t always write victories down. And then years later, I remember. When I remember, I know that I have lost valuable time not remembering sooner. You see, when we are in the midst of trials, we forget the good times. When we are raising our babies, we forget that they grow up. When we have a child with a disability, we forget that God will make a way. As I have raised my son Jack-Jack, I have worried and fretted for too many years. If I write down all the times that I have seen God’s hand in our lives, and I refer back to those times, it will help me to remember. Because in the center of those trials, when I have called out to God, He performed an “And Suddenly. . .” And Suddenly you have hope for the moment.

The phrase And Suddenly appears 87 times in the Bible. How many times has it appeared in your life?

AND SUDDENLY YOU HAVE HOPE FOR THE MOMENT:

God told Noah to build an ark. He listened, and when he was done building and he was shut in the ark, it began to rain. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

And suddenly…the rain stopped.

Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful that must have felt?

MY “AND SUDDENLY” MOMENTS WITH JACK-JACK

When I realized that there was a problem with Jack-Jack, my pediatrician ignored it. I realized I needed to do my own research so I started to map out the brain. I looked at Jack-Jack’s problems and what area of the brain controlled those areas, and then I looked at what deficiencies may occur in the brain. As I was still researching, I attended a conference where Dianne Craft spoke about the brain, autism, and homeschooling. She had already done the research and had the supplements.

And suddenly…answers were given.

About the same time as I started supplements with Jack-Jack, I walked into a book store and found a book that looked intriguing. I do not even remember the title or the author, but she mentioned a type of therapy for autism called holding therapy. As I began to research, I realized I didn’t like all the tenants of “holding therapy,” but I did know that Jack-Jack liked to be held, and he hated to be left in time-out. I began to hold him with pressure and talk to him. Sometimes when he was having a melt-down, I would just scoop him up and hold him. At this time he was non-verbal, but as I held him, I would talk to him and tell him I was sorry that I didn’t know how to help him. He not only enjoyed it, but he actually began to look at my eyes when I talked with him. (Remember at this time they didn’t have compression vests).

And suddenly…one day, he murmured, “Help me,” and I knew my son was struggling to get out.

JACK-JACK’S DISNEY CONNECTION:

The common wisdom was to create a calendar with plenty of routine because autistic children thrive on routine, but that seemed counter-productive to me. What would happen to my child in summer or when he no longer could have the routine he was used to. I decided to do just the opposite, and we homeschooled him. But what type of curriculum could I use? I was also instructed to steer him away from his fixations. However, I realized that we made a connection when I talked about Disney movies or the parks.

And suddenly…I knew we had an answer for how to reach our son.

 

WRITING ELEMENTS OF FUN LEARNING CURRICULUM:

We dove into Disney. I began to research more about how to teach him, and I could not find anything that I felt would touch him the way that he needed. I came across the book, Life Animated by Ron Suskind.

And suddenly…I knew I was to write a Disney curriculum.

I have had so many “and suddenly” moments with my life, and I regret not writing them all down. Those moments give us hope for the future. When you can look and see God’s hand moving just at the right time, those dark times in your life become a little easier.

Jack-Jack has been growing and learning at such a slow pace. He has always been years behind, and I have said that each and every level has taken 3 years. Ages 5-8 were preschool years, and from 9-12 was Kindergarten. He is now about a first-grade level. For years we have struggled with components of his speech. He will say “TH” as an “F” sound. If he is corrected, he will say it correctly once, but immediately go back to “F.” I was recently contacted by a company to review their product, and I agreed.

And suddenly…Jack-Jack is saying TH correctly.

Watch for my review on Forbrain coming soon.