If you've visited my Facebook page or my home for that matter, you'll see dozens (and I mean dozens) of pictures of my boys. I am an extremely proud mommy of her adorable boys. They're precious...I literally tear up when I show their pictures to friends, co-workers, the check-out chick at Dierbergs, everyone.
(This pic to the right is Brody at age 2, right when he was diagnosed...thanks Ryan Pendleton for the awesome pic).
Here is a pic of Destin when he was 5...he is now 8! Again, thanks Ryan!
Since Brody's communication is so limited, we rely on Brody's facial expressions, mannerisms and just his "looks" when we try to converse with him. And as you can see from his pictures....
Brody is goregous. (This pic below is from last year, daddy took it.)
Please don't read this and think, "This chick is just bragging and is conceited about her kid's looks..." that is not the case. He is legitimately a beautiful child and frankly, it's what keeps us going. We can look into Brody's eyes and see everything he is feeling. We see his frustration, joy, pride, sadness, depression...and again as I write this I'm getting teary-eyed.
There are several types of reactions I get from others when I share the news about Brody's diagnosis.
Sometimes people ignore that I even mentioned it...some will say, "Ohhhhh well I heard they are doing so much...." Then therapies will be discussed. I'll also get questions, "What do you think causes it?" But that is a whole other blog post.
One of the reactions I've recently gotten has been, "But he doesn't even look autistic...he's cute."
Here is Brody at 18 months, right when we started speech therapy and his therapist knew, "Something was up..." Does he look autistic? What does that even mean?
Now, I typically just nod and smile when I hear this statement. I realize that it's a difficult conversation. I mean, What on earth do you say???
I'd prefer this statement to, "I'm sorry." That is much worse. What are you sorry for? Look at Brody...he is happy, loved beyond belief and adorable. We're not sorry, don't you be.
I wonder what the "autistic" look is anyway? The majority of autistic children I've met on our journey have looked exactly like me when I was little or like my husband, or anyone else. You really can't tell until some of their behaviors show you the way and shine a light on what is happening.
The truth is, autistic children are exactly, and I mean exactly, like any other child. They get scared, they love Lightning McQueen and ice cream, they love playgrounds and movies, just like your child does. The only difference is, they see, hear and experience everything differently. They are in a foreign country 80% of the time and no one speaks their language. So, they have to adapt by relying on other behaviors like screaming, or signing or my favorite (and Brody's) kissing all.the.time.
So, the next time I hear, "But he doesn't look autistic..." I am again not going to say anything drastic or annoyed. I'm going to stick with my current script and say,
"He looks like Brody."
My fellas...I mean come on....adorable.
Here is Destin again...or Michael J. Fox...really. Handsome.
My kids are my kids. And that's more than enough for this crazy mommy.
