Our Son-Rise Journey

All connections begin with the curiosity to understand another’s world.  Our volunteers come here on a weekly basis and step into Lucas’s world with genuine curiosity, a deep love of his interests and the playful heart of a child.  They do these things to connect with my son and inspire him to grow.  It is because of them and their dedication, to not only grow within themselves but also to give so much of themselves when they are in the room with my sweet boy, that he is so happy and making so much progress. They consistently bring their energy, excitement, creativity, and enthusiasm even on days where they may have huge life issues going on, may not be feeling well, or they may just feel less than energetic. Our volunteers regularly pull themselves into the present with Lucas and leave all of that stuff at the door to reach a common goal.  The goal is to show Lucas people are loving, fun to be with and that we truly expect nothing in return….just to be in and enjoy his world.  That is when the magic happens and he is inspired to grow with us!!

This program takes volunteering to another level and we are truly blessed to have these people in our lives.  They have become some of our best friends and to us they are  and will always be family.  To have so many people who just love our son as he is and dedicate so much of their time and effort to his future and well-being is awe-inspiring.  They are truly amazing!  They are my heroes and the people who inspire me to be more giving!

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to have a post that just celebrated them.  They are all so very special to us.  The video post this week is little clips of all of our volunteers, so it is a little longer, but they are some very sweet moments.  Some videos are more recent and some are from earlier on. The love and dedication they show in the playroom is so apparent in these clips.  Enjoy!

“Autism isn’t a math disorder.  It isn’t a color-naming disorder.  And it isn’t a reading disorder.  It’s a social, relational, interpersonal, interactional disorder.  When you are lying in bed awake at night, thinking and praying about your child’s future, do you pray that one day your child will be at grade level in math?  Or do you wish and pray that one day your child will have a best friend, say “I love you” and really mean it,  or that your child will grow up to live a happy, independent, and fulfilling life?.  Academics are valuable.  But they are only valuable to someone who can function in the world, and only social enjoyment, connection, and participation can make that happen.  In fact, social-relational skills are essential even to succeed at the overall experience of school. ” – Excerpted from Raun Kaufman’s Book, Autism Breakthrough

One year ago, we pulled Lucas out of school to run this program full-time.  At the time, I remember going on faith and my gut rather than thinking about what most people thought I “should” do for my son.  It was definitely a moment I made the decision that judgments weren’t going to be a deciding factor in my son’s future.  It has been the best single decision I have ever made for him on this beautiful journey he has taken me on!  Deciding to take all other factors out and focus on the relational side of autism has allowed so much joy and insight to seep into our lives.  Allowing ourselves to love Lucas as he is, with no expectation, but with everlasting hope and belief in his possibilities has allowed him to grow leaps and bound socially.

Our volunteers show so much love in their interactions and play with Lucas that he, in turn, is loving life and the people in it!  I now not only imagine a world with no judgement, unyielding acceptance and love but feel like we live it in our daily lives.  When you look for these amazing things, you began to see it in all aspects of your life and live it fully.   It’s so much more fulfilling than looking for negative things.  Why not choose happiness?!  It’s all perspective and choice!

One of my daily reminders of looking for these amazing things in my life around me is watching my volunteers in the room with Lucas.  These people have become our family and are an amazing example of what a world full of love and acceptance looks like.  This is one of many reasons I feel Lucas’s autism has blessed us on so many levels.  He has been our biggest teacher! Enjoy this beautiful moment with Lucas and one of my volunteers!