Love him? Check. [Part 2]

I never realized what a pivotal thing that checklist was. But in hindsight, I guess it was then that all of Brett's delays [the few I knew about & the dozens I did not] were all put together for me in plain view. I don't know if it was just me being sensitive or the evaluators or the process being insensitive, but it was as if they were inspecting a faulty product on the assembly line. I wish it had been done differently. For a little over an hour they spotlighted the bad things. And it hit me hard. But as of today, I've spent roughly 74,838 hours with him. I made another checklist focusing on accomplishments & other wonderful things that are unique to him.

DATE: April 30th, 2010

CHILD'S NAME: Brett

DATE OF BIRTH: October 2001

REASON FOR EVALUATION: Autism Spectrum

å learned to talk

å was potty trained

å is very artistic

å is learning to read

å is very good at math [& bubble letters]

å has been given speaking roles at Mass

å plays soccer & has scored some goals

å can swim 25 yards without touching the bottom or the sides of the pool

å has earned cub scout badges

å learned to ride a 2-wheeler bike

å is creative, resourceful & determined

å can eat an adult size portion of spaghetti

å has the biggest, most beautiful brown eyes

å has sweet little freckles on his nose & cheeks

å is the "baby whisperer" ... he transforms when he sees a baby. :)

å plays a mean game of kickball with his classmates

å has the cutest sounding, most contagious laugh

å has been invited over for play dates [by himself]

å has been invited to birthday parties [by himself]

å made his First Communion

å has the most gorgeous shade of auburn hair

å loves the number 55 [still not sure why, but it's his favorite]

å can pump his legs & swing all by himself

å absolutely LOVES having an audience

å is incredible at shooting hoops

å is incredible at hitting pitched baseballs

å draws some of the most detailed sketches of airplanes

å never gets hot

å never gets cold

å can go off the high dive

å has just learned multiplication tables

å loves having friends & being around people

å reminds me if I ever forget to give the kids their vitamins

å has just learned how to tuck in his shirt

å has just learned how to zip up his jacket

å has taught a 6th grade spanish class about the Blue Angels

å has just become brave enough to try hot lunches at school

å wants to be a pilot or a priest when he grows up

å is a little tone deaf, but loves to sing

å says Xie xie [thank you in Chinese]

å and expects me to say Bu ke qi back [perhaps watches too much of this]

å has a self-imposed uniform for just about every activity he does

å is the proud Webkinz parent to Willy the Walrus & Charlie the Caterpillar

å he's never met a stranger, asking everyone if they've bought him a DS

å has a silly bone

å doesn't have a shy bone in his body

å loves to hug

å loves to kiss [... and sometimes lick to surprise you]

å loves his family

å has the brightest smile

å has a very sweet soul

å doesn't like tension between people

å makes sincere apologies all on his own

å just wants to be like every other 2nd grade boy

å has more than exceeded my expectations since that first checklist.

Brett, xie xie for teaching me over time what Autism can look like. :) Love you. And all the things that make you you.