Tonight, I had one of those nights that left me feeling happy inside. One of those nights that reminds me why I work everyday. Reminds me about the important parts of what I do. Bear with me, because this will be long, but I hope it leaves you with a small sense of my joy.
Sometimes on any job, you can get caught up in a lot of little things. The little things add up and make you forget all the good stuff. The good stuff about my job (I coordinate a program for kids with autism for my school district) - the kids. And tonight, I got to see one of "my kids" graduate from 5th grade. Not just graduate, but receive an academic award for a 95 average or higher and an award for a "pure heart."
Back story, "John" came to us in January 2004 at 3 years old. He had about 3 spoken words and had a history of head banging and tantrums. His mom was determined to get all the services she could and together we developed a program for him full of school, therapies, and great parenting. On my first visit, as she reminded me tonight, I apparently preformed a miracle. As I was throwing him up in the air, I got him to say a sentence - "I ont o me" - translated as "I want throw me." It was a defining moment and set the stage for the rest of his programming and progress.
When I finally got the chance to talk to him tonight, it was awesome! He could not shut up - in fact, he informed me that he was considered a heavy talker. He, like his mom, prefaced most of his sentences with the word "evidently." He could tell me the name of any president out of order - I asked for the 32nd, and after telling me I picked an easy one, he told me Franklin Roosevelt. I asked for the 28th, he said Woodrow Wilson. I asked if Obama was 44th. He said, "Well, he is, but evidently, he could be 43rd. See, Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president and then Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president. Well, Cleveland then had a second term as 24th president so really, Obama is the 44th president in the job, but the 43rd person to be president." To which, I said, "ok." He then informed me that he loves history and although the Civil War is one of his favorite topics, he is beginning to get into more modern history to include World War 1, World War 2, the Cold War, you know, modern battles. Again, "ok." I mean, what do you do when you talk to an 11 year old who is obviously smarter than you?
As the night progressed, his mom introduced me to several people as his program coordinator. Then to some people, I was just a friend. I let her decide, especially since I don't think everyone at his school even knows where he came from (another miracle)! To one parent, I was introduced as a friend. "John" then whispered to his mom to ask if it was ok to tell the parent that I was a therapist and about his ABT. Of course, mom agreed and he told her all about me.
We spent the rest of the evening with me telling him funny stories about how he was as a 3, 4, 5 year old and he laughed and laughed at the kid he used to be. Who would have thought 7 years ago, his tantrums would be funny, or his realization that he could control adults with his words would be funny, or his obsession with saying goodbye would be funny?
Tonight, as I watched him do all the signs for the motions to the 5th grade song, sing with unbridled passion, and smile with pure joy, I realized that this is why we work so hard. Not just me, but all my parents, therapists, teachers, etc. We work hard in hopes of moments like this. Moments where we can see miracles happen. See kids who aren't expected to talk, much less read and learn, graduate from the 5th grade at the top of their class. Moments where we spend time laughing over moments that 7 years ago would have made us cry. It is moments like these that remind me that even though it can be hard and discouraging, the light on the other side makes it all worthwhile!
