Selfless Siblings

Many special needs kids have extra special siblings who daily go above and beyond to help out, protect, and care for their brother or sister.  Many of them get little attention or praise for all their efforts because mom and dad are simply too exhausted and busy to notice all the little things they do.  These "normal" kids selflessly put the needs of their special sibling(s) above theirs and never complain that so much money, time, and attention go to help the kid next to them, while their own needs must come second.  Our daughter Lauren is such a kid.  She was born into a family with two older sisters each with special needs and into their world of therapists, specialists, counselors, doctors, etc...  Then, when she was just 18 months old, her brother was born.  It was apparent from the beginning that he was different from other children and needed lots of round the clock attention and care, since he almost never slept and cried for hours on end.  When he was diagnosed with autism at 23 months she was officially the only typical kid in our house, and that wasn't in her favor.  I was used to mothering in unconventional ways and dealing with one crisis after another.  What I wasn't used to was a kid who didn't need to be told everything fifteen times in a very gentle voice and with visual aides.  I've had to learn to listen to her when she stops me and simply says, "I get it, Mom.  You only have to tell me once."  She loves her siblings with all her heart.  She faithfully goes with me on twelve hour trips every other weekend to visit our daughter who lives in a hospital four hours away.  I've seen her many times grab her brother when he was headed toward danger and hang on for dear life while screaming for help as he dragged her toward a street.  She's such a blessing to all of us, but she's made it her mission to teach and help her brother.  She stands bravely by in the grocery store as he has meltdowns, grabbing my purse, his shoes, handling the cart, never embarrassed, she handles it like a six year old pro.  I thank God for sending us this precious little girl who has such a loving and giving heart.

More Fowers!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a bike ride.  I stopped and picked a few weeds for Brendon to fiddle with while he rode.  Before long I heard him saying, "More fowers!"  So of course I stopped and got him more "fowers" every time he said it.  Our sweet dog Pepper goes every step of the way whenever we go riding.  She's not about to let Brendon out of her sight!  :)

Playing in the Rain

Brendon loves to experience things from head to toe.  Running through the raindrops and splashing in the puddles makes him so happy!

Autism Induced Exhaustion

However rewarding being the parent of a child with autism may be, it's also exhausting. Indescribably so.  There's the hypervigilance required to constantly (and I mean 24/7) keep your child from escaping and wandering into a street or drowning in a nearby pool, burning themselves on anything hot while you're cooking, turning on a faucet and flooding your entire house, and emptying the contents of your refrigerator into the kitchen floor, all in the amount of time it takes you to run to the bathroom, When you combine that with the never ending insomnia that usually accompanies the autism diagnosis day after day and year after year, it can honestly make you feel like you're losing you're mind. 

When I meet a parent who raised a child on the moderate to severe end of the spectrum to adulthood, even the fact that they're both alive seems awe-inspiring.  I mean it.  That the parent actually kept their child from drowning, getting run over, etc... for that many years on almost no sleep gives them almost superhero status in my estimation.  :)