The Road to Independence

I have had the incredible blessing of stumbling upon an author by the name of Brenda M. Batts, who has an autistic child and has written a couple books on potty training and independence (see the title of my blog for one of the titles of her books). Something about this author has really resonated with me and I ordered all of the three books that Indigo.ca had by her - I'm so thankful that I did!

Yesterday I started reading the book called "The Road to Independance - Independence Skills Training for Special Needs Children" - wonderful, wonderful book. I happened upon a beautiful story that had me bawling by the end of it, and I knew I needed to include it on my blog.

My Beautiful Boy

"This is what I know, all children have an angel."

Once upon a time, there was a child with autism named Alex who was ready to be born.

So one day he asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to Earth soon. How am I going to live there being autistic, so small, and so helpless?"

"Among the many angels guarding you, I chose one special angel that will take extra care of you. This angel will be waiting for you when you arrive. She does not know it yet, but I am going to prepare her heart and mind to receive you. You will become her special assignment on Earth."

"But tell me, Lord, here in Heaven, I don't do anything, but sing and smile. That's enough for me to be happy. But how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I am autistic? I don't understand the language they speak on Earth."

"Your angel will help teach you how to communicate. She will teach you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear. She will read your actions and respond to your cries for help when it seems that no one else really understands. And with much patience, love, and care, your angel will teach you what you need to learn in order to be successful down there."

The little baby inquired again, "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

The Lord answered, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray to me. She will talk to me every night and ask me for your protection from those who misunderstand you."

"But Lord, I've heard that down on Earth there will be people who will not believe in me. And they will make decisions for me even when those decisons are not the right ones. They will make assumptions about my actions without really knowing me, and since I cannot talk, they will not understand. Who will protect me?"

"Your angel will defend you at the risk of her own life. She will believe in you always and will speak for you when others don't understand you. Don't fret," said the Lord. "Your angel will always talk to others about your greatness and your potential, and she will teach you how to express yourself to others. If she sees injustices being done to you, she will softly tell the truth and always be there for you."

At that moment, there was much peace in Heaven. But voices from earth could already be heard as the child hurriedly asked softly, "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"Your angel's name is of no importance, but since you must know, you will simply call her Mommy."

Author unknown