I was helping Noodle do his homework the other day when he did something amazing. He wanted to clarify a word, so he looked in his science book, found it, and made sure it was the right answer. No big deal for a typical fourth-grader, right? No big deal. My Noodle, however, is no typical boy and what he did was a HUGE deal. Noodle has autism. He is high functioning, which means that he is slightly behind his peers and is mainstreamed into his class and does not need to be in a separate learning environment. He excels in reading aloud. You should hear him read a story. He does it with feeling and gives the different characters in the text different voices. It's a pleasure to listen to. But he struggles with math (like most kids) and reading comprehension. The issue he deals with the most is trying to think 'outside the box.' He can tell you what a character did, but not how the person may have felt, or how different choices made in the story could have changed the ending. He doesn't quite have the ability to solve a problem if the steps aren't laid out in front of him. If he can't figure it out, he'll just sit there, quietly and not do anything. Worse yet, he'll just give up and wait for someone (usually me) to give him the answer. I try not to do that, but there are times when it's just faster to give him the answer so he can move on in homework. So when he went and looked up the word in his science book ON HIS OWN, it was nothing short of a miracle. I'm grateful that Noodle's autism isn't worse. I've seen parents and couples with severely autistic children struggle to cope with their child's disability. It's hard knowing that your child will most likely depend on you for the rest of their life. I don't think that Noodle will be that way. He's making big strides in his progress and I hope that one day, he'll be able to go to college, serve a mission, and find a special girl who will see the good soul that he is, and marry her in the temple. Those times are still far away, so for now, I'll find joy in these little moments that show he's going to be o.k.
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| Oh, yeah....he's going to be a 'Thinker' someday! |
Love it! He's a great kid and you are a fabulous mom. I just love your family. Thanks for being such a great example. (Love the blog too, thanks for having something so uplifting on the 'net'.)
ReplyDeleteI can definitely agree that it's the small and simple things that bring us great joy when we are loving a raising a special needs child. We're getting Chase started on a chart to help him learn how to dress himself and basically be able to do his morning, afternoon and bedtime routine independently without me having to tell him what to do step by step. It will take about a year, but it will be worth it! It really is the little things that become so huge and bring huge amounts of joy! It makes the simple things that much better! Great post :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I have a new blog to read!! I enjoy blogs so much. I have 2 of my own and several that I read on a daily basis. Of course, it's more fun when it's written by someone I used to sit in class with and talk about Janet Jackson! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing all the craziness on the news every day, it's so refreshing to read about real people doing real things each day in their own unique and beautiful way. I am thoroughly impressed with you, Venessa. You know, I recently read about the loss of your first child and now this about your autistic child...wow. Many people would have been broken, but you and your husband have chosen to be strong and have built a beautiful family. Kudos.
And I think you have a budding actor on your hands in Noodle. I have friends who couldn't solve a math problem to save their lives. But when they get a script in front of them, and we are rehearsing a play...ahhhh...goosebumps!
Love,
Ernest
PS - Have you seen the movie "Temple Grandin" (On HBO) starring Claire Danes? A fantastic movie about a high-functioning autistic woman. It's brilliant.