Mommy

To me, Mommy is one of the most beautiful words in the English language. The typically-developing child usually starts making the "mama" sound in the first year of life and then begins to use the word meaningfully somewhere between the tenth and fourteenth month. Joshua did not follow this pattern. One of our first indicators that something was amiss in Josh's development was that he never referred to me as mom, mommy or mama. We later learned that this is often a sign of autism.

When Josh started receiving Early Intervention services at home, we made some goals for him with his teachers and his service coordinator. One of our family goals was to get him to say mommy and daddy consistently and meaningfully. We made these goals in March and revised them in August. Josh's teachers at home and at preschool worked hard to point me out as "Mommy" at every available opportunity. About a week and a half ago, when I came to pick up Josh from school, he was walking across the parking lot with one of his teachers. He saw me and happily exclaimed, "Mommy!" I was delighted but the reality of this moment did not immediately dawn on me. The word was so natural coming from his mouth. And though he had never said it before, his face and eyes had communicated the sentiment hundreds of times. Autistic children struggle to communicate in language and gesture but often have a nonverbal way of speaking. Still, I had dreamed of being called "Mommy." I don't know why this was so important. I can only explain it in terms of the importance we as human beings attach to names.

When Josh called me "Mommy," I was also cautious. At times he had seemed to label me correctly as his mother only to forget later or to use the term "mama" to label himself or Jason. After that moment in his preschool parking lot, I was terrified he would never say "mommy" again. But Joshua has continued to call me "Mommy" since that day. One day, he even called me mommy and came and squeezed me. My heart leaped with joy! This was remarkable as autistic children often struggle to express affection in a traditional manner.

I see these gains as a miracle, a much prayed-for and hoped-for miracle. I can only attribute this miracle to the hard work of Josh's teachers and most importantly, the prayers of caring friends and family. Through your prayers, our Father in Heaven has given me one of the most precious and beautiful gifts I have ever received in my life. I can never adequately thank those of you who have remembered us in your prayers but please know that this "Mommy" is deeply grateful and always will be.
Credit for this picture must go to my friend Cindy Jensen. She took this last summer in her backyard and I absolutely love it! She really captured my curious and happy boy.