Who is keller now

Our story is fascinating to write because our present circumstances in no way reflect the world we found ourselves in just 6 years earlier.  We were in the throws of special needs with a son who had autism and parents who hadn’t even heard of it before the diagnosis.  Our schedule and days were packed with therapists, interventions, educational pursuits to understand it all more, and experts in every subject and perspective.  You won’t be surprised to hear that we were overwhelmed, exhausted, angry at God, and confused at how we could have possibly gotten to this place.  Every day was a battle that we never asked for in a war we felt we were always losing.

Fast forward to today.  My son has turned 10 this year.  He is the most social kid in his class, everyone’s best friend, and loves to chat about all things in the world. Most important to him are soccer and Pokémon.  He thrives in school as he loves the routine and challenge of education, but jubilantly runs outside to be with his friends at every break.  He has become compassionate, looking out for those around him who are in need or left out.  He is hilarious, with a quick wit and the ability to land a joke that is beyond his age.  He lights up a room and brings joy in every situation.

Yep.  This is the same boy.

This was the same boy who was non-verbal, couldn’t be taken out in public, was stimming at every chance he would get, and clung to my legs at all times, refusing to even interact with his family.  This is the same boy.

I would not have believed it unless I lived it myself.

I can say with utmost certainty that we do not have a boy who has managed his autistic symptoms; no, it is much more.  He didn’t just learn how to interact with people and how to stop stimming.  He didn’t just simply overcome his overwhelm with new things and any transitions.  No.  He is a completely different kid.

We know how it could have happened.  Prayer.  Miracles.  Changing the neuropathways in his tiny and malleable brain when he was so young.  Lots and lots of behavioral therapy that eventually became his way of life.  It was all these things.  But he is wholly different.

There are moments now when he does something extraordinary, or even something quite ordinary, and I just look at him and marvel.  He is a walking miracle.  He would have been perfect if he had had autism all his life, but he doesn’t, and what was unimaginable and unthinkable is now daily happening right before his eyes.  I thought he would never say "I love you," but now he says it all the time.  I thought he would never have a relationship and now he has loads of best friends and girls crushing on him at his young age.  I thought he would never have "big" childhood experiences, but now he goes happily to amusement parks, paintball wars, camping trips, and everything in between.  He is astounding us all. He astounds us by just by being a normal 10-year-old boy.

Keller is more than we could have dreamed of, and we cherish every day with him.