Parker is 12. I like it when he gets frustrated to the point of cursing, and he just says something like "ORANGE!" It becomes so funny, we all laugh so hard, we forget what started the frustration to begin with. He loves and laughs so much that it makes you happy by default. He wakes up laughing. Oh sure, he hates hair cuts, and hair washes, drinking water, sweet tea. He hates not tying shoe laces all the way up, jumpy dogs, vegetables, did I say hair cuts? He loves so much, swimming, swinging, and drawing, play-doh and youtube, baking and putting away the silver wear from the dishwasher. He loves toy story and the toy section at TJ Max and running through the rug display at Lowe's. We're the luckiest family ever. Parker is so stinkin' cute we get away with too much. He can't talk to you yet he's full of charm. He's brave and friendly. He's a roller coaster fanatic, and they do not make him wait in line at theme parks (but he will with no problem!) He's in 6th grade and this week his teacher (the best one ever) sent a pic of him sitting at her desk. He just took over... and she was not upset. She was proud, and shared. I love his world. I love who he gets to be. I love the new sense of community that has evolved with autism awareness, in a "suburb" in South Carolina of all places. It didn't take therapy, it took empathy. And he turned out just fine. We understand the future holds challenges, but we will just give it a good "ORANGE!" and laugh our way back to ok again. :)

Anonymous
Lexington, SC