“Autism is part of my child. It’s not everything he is. My child is so much more than a diagnosis.” – S.L. Coelho
This quote that I found by S.L Coelho has really stood out to me. As I am a parent of an autistic child well now adult who has made great strides throughout his entire life. Autism is something that years ago I never understood and knowing why my child was labeled as slow, showing out, temper tantrums and even self-harm to himself.
I could go on and tell a long story about how great God is and how he revealed his purpose that he has for my son who is on the spectrum. But to make a long story short, I had the stares of how and why he acts that way. It was hard as a parent to understand myself the ups and downs and the feelings of my son. But one thing that did help was taking classes through a local agency in Missouri called Judevine that taught behavioral techniques and how to cope with situations that will lead to a positive approach and outcome.
As those days passed and my son became a teenager and now an adult, the best time of his life, leading up to today, was when he moved away to another place where God has really elevated him and is not done using him yet. He has the gift of music; he can sing, play the keys, and is an awesome drummer, as well as an excellent basketball and track and field player. When I say an excellent basketball player this year, he was chosen to participate in the Special Olympics USA Games, which were held in Minneapolis, MN, June 22-June 26, 2026. This alone was an opportunity for Jared as he was never offered the opportunity to play basketball or sports while in high school. This alone was limitations instead of seeing the ability and looking beyond the disability.
This honor alone was so well deserving and most of all it brought together people with a variety with intellectual disabilites from 50 states to compete be able to show their abilities that we do not see in others. For my son it was an experience for him to meet other people and feel wanted and respected. As I was there to witness along with my family how it has changed him. He was a leader a motivator to his own team if times got tough during competition but in the end just seeing how happy he was brought tears to my eyes, as I looked around and saw other athletes and the kindness that everyone showed one another. In the end the Special Olympics theme really stuck out to me and for each and every individual including my son during each day of competition is “If i can’t win, let me be brave in the attempt.” And each person no matter what the event was has done that.
In the previous paragraph I also touched on how my son has a gift for music. What makes his musical ability even more remarkable is that he does not read music notes but plays by ear, relying on his memory, listening skills and God given ability to hear and recreate melodies. His passion for music began when he was three years old and always wanted something to beat on, even if he made his own set of drums out of pots and pans and anything else he could find to mimic the sound of a drum. And still today he is being called to play at many churches as well as his own home church where he plays the drum and on occasions will play the keyboard as well.
Like many individuals on the spectrum, he still faces challenges and may have some obstacles that he still faces each day but he is loved by everyone, and as a mother, that makes me proud to hear how he is so well spoken of that shows that he is accepted in his community and everywhere that he goes. There are many parents that have children and adults that are on the spectrum and there is help available and support groups. I know catching it early on as a child and working through trials and tribulations and praying on a daily basis is what helped me and my family get though the tears and the whys. So please do not give up and know that our special people who we love are needed. Be Blessed.
“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” -Goethe