Lil Sis is 4 years old.
Her favorite color is purple.
She loves My Little Pony, just like her two sisters do.
She excels at art, including drawing pictures and coloring.
She is on the autism spectrum.
When she smiles, a dimple appears in her right cheek.
Her smiles are irresistible.
She likes to take things apart to see how they work.
She loves Richard Scarry's Busytown stories.
Her favorite Busytown character is Lowly the worm.
She didn't call me Mama until she was three years old.
She loves to run and go down the slides at the park.
She is great at climbing.
Her favorite food is cheese pizza.
She loves animals, both toys and real.
She cannot answer questions like "How old are you? What is your name?"
She loves her sisters and copies everything they do.
She gives powerful bear hugs.
She knows her colors, shapes, numbers, and letters.
She is frightened by changes in her routine or new places.
She has an excellent memory and can sing a song after hearing it just once.
She loves to sing along with Veggie Tales silly songs.
She likes to build with blocks and then knock them down.
She repeats certain phrases over and over rather than having a conversation.
By age two, she could read 45 sight words.
She could also count to 20 and recognize every letter of the alphabet.
She loves the ocean and digging in the sand.
She gets overwhelmed by too much noise or uncomfortable textures to the point of a meltdown, which looks like a "tantrum" to people who don't understand.
People may think she is "different."
She is.
People may think she is "less than."
She isn't.
Different isn't bad.
We value differences in our family.
We affirm the fact that she, like the rest of us, was created by God with a purpose and a plan.
We want others to see our daughter, not a disorder.
She is more than autistic.
She is beautiful, smart, important, capable, and loved.
She could also count to 20 and recognize every letter of the alphabet.
She loves the ocean and digging in the sand.
She gets overwhelmed by too much noise or uncomfortable textures to the point of a meltdown, which looks like a "tantrum" to people who don't understand.
People may think she is "different."
She is.
People may think she is "less than."
She isn't.
Different isn't bad.
We value differences in our family.
We affirm the fact that she, like the rest of us, was created by God with a purpose and a plan.
We want others to see our daughter, not a disorder.
She is more than autistic.
She is beautiful, smart, important, capable, and loved.
Thank you for sharing, we are just recently dealing with this as well for our Son. It has challenged me more than any of our other children and learning all I can, is so important to me. God Bless You!
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to say that God never gives anyone more than they can handle. You see your daughter as the wonderful, gift that she is, rather than focusing on what makes her different. Her picture is beautiful, and your description makes her sound like a unique and special little girl.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so candid. Our 3 y/o daughter has these horrendous meltdown, ignores my requests unless it is what she was already wanting to do and will often growl, scream or run away rather than obey every. single. time. I am starting to think she may need to be evaluated but I don't know where to start first.
ReplyDeleteNewest follower, thanks for following me.
So eloquently stated. She is definitely beautiful, smart, important, capable, and loved more than she could imagine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful post! THANK YOU for your honesty...I know God will use this to help and encourage others.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it very much.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Mandy ~ I sent you an email.