My son, Jaiden, amazes me every day. His loving, fun, artistic personality. His strides. His talents...he makes me laugh and feel alive like no one else can.
My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder before he was even two years old. After he was evaluated, he started receiving therapy, Developmental and Occupational, 3x a week through Early Intervention. Despite the feelings of anxiety, anger, confusion and skepticism at first, I'm glad I made the decision. I realized it wouldn't hurt him, only benefit him. And it really did.
Now, he's in an Early Childhood Education program and receives Speech Therapy and sessions with a Special Education teacher. It's going well, but I've made the decision to start him in a new school that has inclusion classrooms, so that he can get more of the attention he needs. I'm nervous about it, hearing so many stories about children with Autism being labeled as "bad" or being mistreated or neglected by the school system because of their lack of knowledge. But I continue to pray and I know that regardless, my son will be ok. He has a family that loves him to pieces. And he will always be reminded that the sky is the only limit.
Asbury Park, NJ
