Usually I "make the rounds" with Brody before I put him in his room to go to sleep for the night. By making the rounds I mean I like to take Brody around to the special people in his life to try to have him say goodnight. Due to Jake's previous job and his current job he is almost never at home when Brody goes to bed. It is usually his baby brother Ryan and his Grandma. If other family is over when he goes to bed I take him to them to say goodnight. On the rare occasion Brody decides to kiss goodnight it would be for Ryan a very soft head tap or lean in toward Ryan. If he doesn't give Grandma a kiss goodnight there might be some eye contact. With the way Brody has been the last couple of years, even eye contact is good and kisses are even better. It shows that unlike many children with autism Brody can show affection and it is a form of socialization and connecting with others that is wonderful to see.
Jake stayed home from work yesterday which has never happened since he started this job months ago. Last night, Jake and our little family had the blessing that our little boy (who is 3 years and 4 months old) looked right at his daddy and said, for the very first time, "Night, Night Daddy". For Brody this is huge!
Jake and I cried and hugged our little Brody very tight and close. He was smiling so big cause he got such a huge and positive reaction for what he did. I could also tell from his reaction that Brody had no idea why it was such a big deal speaking those few words.
I am sure anytime a child says those words or "Mommy" or "I love you" or something like it for the first time it makes a parent so happy and I am sure there isn't anything like the sound of your child's voice. But Jake and I have been waiting for about 2 years to hear words from Brody.
In Jenny McCarthy's Louder Than Words she refers to an autism window and pulling your child out of it. It is a great analogy. Events like tonight is a great example of the window opening a bit. I wanted to include a little bit from her book. It was an incident that reminded me of last night plus it is a short little story that pulls at your heartstrings.
THE WINDOW OPENS A LITTLE
I looked down and saw Evan's big blue eyes staring at me. It wasn't his normal glazed-over look. He seemed clear-eyed. He tugged on my leg again, and I got down on my knees and said, "Hey, little bird, what's going on?"
He looked at me again and said with all of his might, "Want...to...go...swimming."
John was standing next to me at the time and leaped into the air. "Did you just hear that?" he screamed.
My eyes filled with tears, and I nodded. I couldn't believe it. Evan had said a sentence. This was huge. HUGE! It was everything. The window has just gotten wider, and I was pulling my baby out! John picked him up and ran outside, and they both jumped into the pool with their clothes on.
Chills went through my whole body, and I cried as John and Evan splashed in the water. Up to this point Evan would say only one word at a time, and only words for objects. The fact that he had just blurted out a four-word sentence was honestly a miracle.
Miracles happen and we are praying for more for our little Brody. For now we will take the small miracles and cherish them.
Thanks for our family and friends who constantly pray for us.
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