Just Daniel

God bless Daniel!

He's my 12-year old nephew who happens to be autistic.

There's a hugh spectrum of abilities for autistic kids and I haven't done enough research to know with authority where Daniel falls on that scale but I DO know that he's performing at a far higher level than I could ever have imagined possible when he was diagnosed at 4.

He has the best parents any special needs kid could have AND he's in a school district that values EVERY student. Those are not the only but they are two of the main reasons he has come so far.

His has been an amazing journey.

He's made some giant leaps in the last couple years. He and his younger brother are relating in ways that I was never sure would happen for them but - by gosh - they PLAY GAMES together, now, almost every single day.

Unheard of.

He took up an instrument, the baritone, and we could only look at it and wonder what the heck would happen. Two years later not only does he play it (and LOVES playing it!) but he's in the regular old-fashioned school band!?? ON THE STAGE, playing in harmony with others!! He sits silently when he needs to and jumps in with beautiful music when it's his time to shine.

Amazing.

Last summer he went to a special needs bike camp to learn to ride a two-wheeler and he DID. Prior to that his mother-who-loves-him would tool him around on a bicycle built for two so their family could bike ride together. Well... he'd gotten so tall and filled out so much that she was literally doing all the work for what essentially were two grown adults!? He sat in the back and waved to neighbors, smiled and sang to himself having a ball while she grunted and groaned pedalling for two up and down all the many hills in East Lansing!???

Now that's true love.

But even true love gets pooped so Shelly researched and found a group that had been successful teaching autistic kids to ride a two-wheeler. On faith, she signed Daniel up for their summer program. It involved 3+ hours a day in the car and that ranks VERY low on Daniel's list so she was never sure until The Day if it would be a "go" but it was. And he learned. And now he's ALMOST (fingers crossed!?) ready to go around the block (shh...) a-l-o-n-e.

I had to whisper it for fear of jinxing the prospect!!!

If he hadn't almost run an old guy down last week (!) it probably would have been a
fait accompli but... well... there's always that big but, y'know??

I'm so proud of him. And Shelly and Todd. And his brother Zachary. And his grandparents. And his classmates. And his teachers. And everyone who loves him because, as Zachary said in kindergarten when a kid asked him, "What's wrong with your brother?" he - without hesitation - answered, "Nothing,

"he's just Daniel."