Tuesday, 04 May 2010

• Asperger's Syndrome - One Benefit

  When we finally received a diagnosis or "label" for Jonathan, after the initial shock and grief process, Scott and I realized that the Lord had given us a "bridge" into a whole new world that we otherwise would not have entered. And I'm so thankful that the Lord has given us an opportunity to enter this world. Scott and I talked recently. It would not be a world we would've chosen for ourselves, but we definitely wouldn't change a thing now that we are here.
  
  We've met some incredible people along the years. We've become a part of their lives as much as they've become a part of ours. And while they've served and ministered to us in many ways, we've seen how the Lord used us to serve and minister to them or others too.
  
  Take for example the young ABA (Applied Behavioral Analyst) who first came to our house to work with Jonathan. Our doctor said we needed one and wrote a prescription for one. Since we were brand new into this diagnosis, we had no idea what an ABA was, let alone how to find one. And I'm sure most people will tell you that finding an ABA is no easy task, especially when you live 90 miles from any city of size. We live in Southern Maryland. Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia cities are the closest areas with ABAs listed in the phone book. Every one I called had waiting lists and that was if I wanted to drive Jonathan into the city. The doctor said we needed one to come to our house. So I got on the Internet and found the ABA board certified providers and but in my search criteria.  

  
  
  Out popped Jamie's name. She just moved to Maryland from Pennsylvania, was working full-time as a special education teacher and wanted to take on one or two clients to begin building her private practice as an ABA. She drove 90 miles to see Jonathan once or twice a month. She was fantastic and helped us get Jonathan out of the house to run errands without major meltdowns. As she worked with us, we got to know her. As we got to know her, she confined in me that she was pregnant. Then her husband called to tell me that she was in the E.R. losing the baby. I knew before her own family knew. And this happened another time or two. Even though she stopped working for us, she let us know about her pregnancy which did go full term. We drove four hours one way for her baby shower (because she was that important to our family) and we drove one hour one way for the baby's first birthday. The next time we heard from her husband, he called to say she'd just been diagnosed with a brain tumor and he asked us to prayer for her. When Jamie first started working with us, she and her husband didn't attend a church. By the time she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she and her husband were actively involved in a church, which turned out to be a huge blessing in their lives. This church just surrounded her family and helped them in so many ways.
  
  Jamie was the first provider we had in our lives as a result of Jonathan's diagnoses, but we've had more providers and people in our lives during the last six years. Jamie will always have a special place in our hearts. Like I said, God sent her to us in a miraculous way. (Remember the Internet search and the fact that she had just moved her and was only going to take two clients?) She gave us so many practical ways to handle Jonathan that life began to get a little easier for the first time in three and a half years. And it still stuns me that somehow we had some kind of impact on her life that she shared her most painful experiences with us, sometimes before sharing them with others.

   

  Jamie was only the first person the Lord brought into our lives. As I look back over the years at the different people we've met because of Jonathan's diagnosis, I'm in awe. This is especially true since there was a time in my life when I built a protective wall about myself so no one could really know me. (That way I couldn't get hurt.)
  
  Tell me, would you be interested in more of these stories? Or should I go back to Purple Man comics, dinner table conversations and videos of the kids?
  
  If you think about it, please keep us in mind this afternoon. We will be going back into the IEP meeting to try and convince the school that Jonathan does qualify and need an IEP. Thanks.

  
  

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