My Son Has Autism... So What!

David's recent blog entry inspired me to post this excerpt a letter that my husband wrote for my son's journal, From Autism To All-Star.

I hope it encourages Fathers who read this to become more involved with their children's lives.

2004 From Dad to Jordan

I knew long before you were born that you’d be special. It took mom and me so long to conceive you that when you finally arrived I .thought I would be ready for anything. Little did I know.
While my buddies told me that I’d be counting fingers and toes in the hospital, as we went along our way I knew the most important thing I wanted to teach you was how to love. But a funny thing happened along the way… you taught me how to love like I never believed a human could.
I was hoping you would be a sports enthusiast, since sports built character in my youth and kept me out of trouble. At an early age you took a liking to wrestling. Your first ballgame was at Wrigley Field at ten months old. I remember your first Sox game at one and a half. We stayed for the fireworks display after the game and the noise and load sounds made you literally crawl into a corner and take cover. I covered you as best I could until it ended. I felt terrible for you because you were so distraught with the load noises.
Your interest in wresting grew as you did. You couldn’t speak, but together we traveled the suburbs and inner city to hunt for die-cast wrestling cars issued in 1997-1998. We finally completed this in late ’98.
I never needed to keep a list; you knew exactly what cars you had. You were older and wiser than your age. I would have never believed a five or six year old could comprehend collectibles. I explained to you these were for looking at and we couldn’t open them up. I did purchase some duplicates for you to play with though. You would spend hours and days playing with the cars in the boxes. Arranging and re-arranging them. I’d move them if you stepped away from them and upon returning you would have a fit and put them back into their original order. I will always remember when the show Married with Children would come on. You were one year old than and in your bouncy chair. As soon as you’d hear the theme song start you’d whimpering until your chair was put in front of the television. We at first thought there was something wrong with your hearing but we noticed that you were moving your head to the beat.
Jordan, one of my concerns was how other children would view you because you were different. As I grew up, kids could really be tough on other kids. Your Mom and I tried to instill in you self- esteem and self-confidence. I believe sports helped a lot with this. We are always telling you how smart you are. We never stop telling you how lucky we are to have you.
I’ve tried to teach you that there are no shortcuts in life. Especially, in sports. Play fair and never cheat to win. You have to learn to be a good loser to become a champion or a great winner. You’re very competitive and I’ve tried to teach you to compete in everything in life. Competition is a challenge…winning is a celebration, but handling defeat is just as important.
You’ve learned at an early age what commitment is. I will not be a parent that makes you play all sports, instruments, or makes you go to church and the like. However, if you commit to anything, I’ve taught you to complete it from the start to finish. Like it or not. I will not live my childhood through you but I would love to be a part of your growing up. You seem to tell me everything, and I’ve taught you to tell the truth and be honest.
Communication will be a big part of your future whether you will be able to say exactly what’s in that little brain of yours or not. You try and I give you that.
Don’t quit, Jordan, please don’t ever quit. I love you with ever fiber of my being, more than life itself. I was supposed to be the teacher and instead you made me your pupil. Showing me on a daily basis another miracle. With God’s grace and more people in your life for a reason, you will succeed to places people have only dreamed of.

Enjoy your journey
Love, Dad