Autism enriches my life.

The subject matter for this post is one of the reasons why I really started thinking about getting a blog.  While God has truly blessed us with four healthy, happy children....He has also seen fit to enrich our lives by giving us a child with special needs.  Our son Daniel has Autism, a high-functioning form called Asperger's Syndrome.  If you have never heard of this particular form of Autism I am tempted to ask you what rock you just climbed out from under, but that might be considered rude.   :P  It's just that you hear so much about it today that it would seem strange to me........but if you do not have a child with special needs then I guess it would be possible that you haven't heard of A.S.  Our journey to finding out his exact challenges and giving them a name is a long one that I'll probably write about another day.  But, in the mean time if you are curious there are plenty of websites to offer information.  Here's a good one to start your reading if you are so inclined: http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/


Today, my goal is to share how Daniel's view of this planet enriches the lives of every member of this family.  He makes us work harder, be more compassionate and less judgmental.  He makes us laugh and he makes us cry.  He amazes us and shows us that everyone can truly become so much more than we give ourselves credit for.  He is the example of child-like faith in action.  God has His hand on Daniel's life.  I am so in awe of His goodness.


I have so many funny stories of things Daniel has said or the things he does.  Like yesterday.  He was working on his Social Studies.  The assignment was to read and think about what God might want you to do with your life.  Basically to read and check off things that might interest you.  The workbook was 3 pages full of career and ministry areas that might interest a student.  This is where is got funny.  Daniel does NOT like anything that he considers even remotely dangerous.  He also doesn't like to get dirty. And he REALLY does not like anything that might be considered girly or mess with his masculine self.  ;)  So, he is going through these things and once we got past the Arts and Media section (the first section I might add) this was pretty much his verbal commentary:


"Nope, nope, nope, too dangerous, too gross, nope, nope, nope, THAT'S FOR GIRLS!, nope, nope,........"


You get the idea.  It was SO FUNNY!!  His siblings and I were quietly chuckling.  It was very "Daniel-typical".


I guess I know what to start researching for college.


I hope you enjoyed the latest "Daniel-Moment".  I'm sure there will be plenty more to share.  :)