Our Journey With Jonathon
I’m writing a separate letter this time for
Jonathon because so many have asked about him and his life with Autism. It has been a journey, one we weren’t sure
we were prepared for, but I am so thankful the Lord knows and he has gone
before us the whole way. Jonathon is
now 7. He attends Oak Tree, which is a
school for kids with special needs and is in a class specifically for Autistic
children. He likes going to this school
and he seems to really enjoy riding the bus.
Sheila Swicegood has been his teacher for almost 3 years now and she is
an absolute angel. In her class he has
learned the alphabet and writes his name, numbers, and has learned his colors. It is unknown though if he really
understands what “colors” are. He still
doesn’t speak, but he communicates with a book known as “PECS”. The book is full of pictures that he can
choose from to tell us what he wants or needs.
For example, if he is thirsty he will bring us the “I want” and the
“Juice” signs. This is a lifesaver for
us and has really helped us to better communicate with Jonathon. It can still be frustrating at time for
Jonathon because there are times when he acts like he wants to tell us
something but is unable to verbalize what he is feeling.
Jonathon is much more aware of his
surroundings now. He is learning to
play with other children, but would rather play alone. He often takes objects, such as pencils and
sticks, and “taps” with them. He still
“Stims” and does hand flapping with noises, which is common for Autistic
kids. However we are working on cutting
down on those behaviors. One thing that
has helped is keeping him on the “Autism diet”. This diet contains no dairy, wheat, or gluten. This is sometimes hard to maintain, but he
is much better when he is on it.
This fall he received a pair of
glasses. It seems to help (if we can
get him to keep them on!) and he uses a device in school called and “FM
Modulation Unit”. This device cuts out
all the background noise so all he hears it the teachers voice. This has helped him to focus on the teacher
and not be distracted. They are trying
to get a unit for us to use at home. He
also gets speech and occupational therapy twice w week and seems to be making
progress there also. They work on his oral
skill and his small and large motor functions.
Jonathon is still sensitive to certain
noises (hairdryer, mixer, etc) and doesn’t do well when his “schedule” is
interrupted or changed. Autistic
children thrive on schedules and certain rituals. He still takes medicine to help him sleep and we are praying he
does not need anything stronger help keep him “calm” during the day. He is also more loving toward us. I am looking forward to the day that he will
say, “I love you”.
A big highlight this year was Jonathon’s
weeklong trip to Camp Arrow. It is a
camp for kids with special needs. He
loved it! I, on the other hand had a
much harder time leaving him. Our
greatest fear was he would “run away” from the camp. The counselors said he did very well and will be going again next
summer. I want to thank everyone who
has asked about him or who has helped us with him. He is a special little boy and I know we have him for a reason. He has taught us to be more patient, less
selfish, more tolerant of others, and has helped us to develop a stronger
family bond. The kids are really good
with him. They help watch out for him
are willing to help take care of him. We are truly thankful. Please keep us in your prayers. We have links on our homepage for Autism and
we encourage you to read more about it.
Did you realize that 250 children a day are diagnosed with Autism? We are praying for a cure and prevention of
this disease. We pray 2007 will be a
better year for Jonathon. Thank you all
again and God Bless you all.
Jonathon’s Parents.
Matt
19:14 and Matt 5:8