When my Son Introduced me to a Stranger
My favorite autism moment with my son is when he introduced me to a stranger. It was an amazing moment I will cherish forever!
My son, Eli was diagnosed at 19 months old with moderate autism spectrum disorder. It was not shocking news to me.
We had concerns with Eli since he was super little. Never greeted anyone, never responded when spoken to, never spoke a word.
He always used screams, cries, and grunts to communicate.
Once diagnosed, we began outpatient speech and occupational therapies at our local hospital. Eli responded so well to his therapists.
It didn’t take long for his sweet charm to win them over.
After 2.5 months or so of weekly sessions with both therapists, Eli began to really speak out loud. His very first word was mama.
Most of the time though it was random things he saw in sight. Chair, book, toy, etc.
A few more months go by. We begin school which was a huge hurdle. But we made it passed the initial fright.
He seemed to acclimate very well into the routine of school. We had a wonderful and very patient preschool teacher who was a great influence for Eli.
One Wednesday I pick Eli up for therapy as usual. His teacher told me he had been talking almost all day.
So, we leave and attend therapy. He had a great session. Spoke sentences of all the imagination he had in his head.
I smile and say “Yeah that’s great Eli.”
We walk out the door of the hospital and there is a couple sitting on the bench by the door. When we are outdoors I always have a firm grip on his hand because I’m terrified of elopement.
As I’m walking to our car his hand slips from mine.
I quickly turn around and find him standing in front of the couple on the bench.
He’s jabbering away to them and of course they can’t understand him because his speech isn’t the most articulate.
So, I start to listen to see if I can decipher to them what he’s saying. And he says “This is my mama.”
It was the very first time he ever introduced me to anyone.
It was the most amazing, sweetest thing I ever experienced. Warmed my heart instantly!
I cried as soon as we got in the car. I couldn’t believe my boy in seven short months went from not speaking any words to full sentences to strangers!
I’m so proud of all his accomplishments even three years later. He continues to amaze me.
I really enjoy how literal he is nowadays. When I threaten a “whooping to his tail”, his response is “I don’t have a tail!”
I hope this brought a smile to your face and I hope it helps you keep faith that your baby can accomplish anything that any other child can.
Don’t ever set limits because they will surprise you and push right past them! God bless!
Written by, Taylor Duke
You can follow Taylor at Confessions of an Autism Mom.
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