We knew JJ had autism before we ever met him. I quite naively said that autism doesn't bother me. My brother has autism. My friend has a happy little nonverbal boy, who was always in his own little world. I was about to find out how different it is to be the caregiver.
We met JJ through zoom meetings; it was 2020 and lockdowns were in place. He was normally in a high chair and staring off into space as hubby and I tried to engage with an autisic 4 year old through a screen. He completely ignored us unless we sang nursery rhymes. We sang a lot of nursey rhymes.
When we finally met in person, we found out that JJ looked through people not at them, did not respond to his name, and was addicted to the tablet, (hence his extensive knowledge of nursery rhymes). He was very pale and had no hand grip at all. He just sat rocking on the couch staring at the screen.
However, we were the parents God chose for this little boy. We had high hopes for his future. It was our job to help him reach his full potential.
MR
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