If there's one thing I've learned about raising a child with special needs, it's that sometimes the transformations you are hoping for happen when you least expect them. In the meantime, I have learned to appreciate Asa-always-no matter how challenging life gets. Pretty soon, you will not only begin to understand but will even embrace the differentness of your special-needs child. When I first learned of his diagnosis, I was determined to pull him into my world. I sat endlessly trying to make him speak, make him look, make him do. And then slowly I began to realize that his world is beautiful, too. So I stopped trying to yank him into my world and instead tried to enter his.
Asa loves without restraint, without strings, without malice. His heart is so innocent and so pure. It is breathtaking. He sees things no one else sees. To me it is a rock; to him it is a universe.
Being in special-needs-parent mode for the past several years has transformed the way I look at life. And thinking back, I'm happy about that. I've developed a certain amount of moxie. Guiding Asa has given me the courage to write and speak and to revel in being unaverage. I can pretty much tolerate any type of weirdness, as long as it isn't mean-spirited. And how wonderful it is to expand your concept of what's normal, particularly in your own home, and just go with it!!!!! Asa is a wonder, and it makes me burst with pride to see the joy he not only has brought to us, but to so many other people in our community. I have learned to see the light at the end of the tunnel, instead of pitch darkness, when I look ahead.
Asa has become an ambassador for all people with disabilities, and that his spirit, humor, and grace have enriched the lives of everyone who has ever had the chance to know him. He has so many people who love him dearly. What parent ever dreamed a bigger dream than that?
