Genetic Dice

Samuel's mother, from the documentary Including Samuel, talks about the thin line we walk between being a parent to a child with a disability and becoming his therapist. If we did everything the therapists and teachers recommended we would essentially become the child's therapist. I would prefer only being a mom but I also want to help Louie in whatever way I can. When raising a child with special needs, every day is filled with some form of at home therapy...the Wilbarger protocal sensory brushing, Nuk brushing, putting on his weighted vest in 40 minutes increments throughout the day, Floortime. Then there is putting on his braces, taking them off before nap, putting them back on after nap, trying to get him to walk with the walker and using the picture exchange system. The pictures are wonderful because they give Louie the opportunity to make a request by handing us the picture of what he wants. We keep everything, all toys, snacks, favorite books, everything, put away so he has to request each item. We encourage this constant interaction so he will see the benefit of communication which will in turn set the foundation for language. Let me emphasize, these are all the things we're supposed to be doing. We forget, we get discouraged, we get lazy. But in the end, when we see him accomplish the smallest of milestones, we celebrate. And it gives us the encouragement and the steam we need to step it up and keep going.

Our youngest, Ace, is typically developing but that is not without worry...at three months he rolled over but then stopped for about a week. Oh no! Regression! Autism? As with any parent, we are well-versed in worry. It comes with the job, hand-in-hand with guilt. Having a child is a leap of faith. As we consider having a third child we can't help but to ask ourselves if we should take the gamble and roll the genetic dice once more.