Normal

That is not a word that I would use to describe our life over the past 14 months or so. I mean, we have a two year old who has more appointments than most adults...therapy 5 days a week, plus regular appointments with a specialist for behavior problems, a neurologist, and pediatrician. We get crazy looks when we are out, because Joshua looks like he is 4 but doesn't talk and still has some balance issues. He tries to sign to other people, but they don't know what he is doing. We have gotten used to all of this & the severe tantrums that come with all of the challenges that Joshua has. However...there have been several times in the last couple of weeks that felt very normal. Outings to parks or the zoo have been a struggle for a while because if Joshua wasn't in his stroller, he would run away, crawl around, pick things up & put them in his mouth, and have major tantrums if you tried to stop any of it. Often I avoided those places rather than deal with the "scenes" that would occur if we tried. But, last week I took Joshua to the park after school because it was nice out. He was perfect! He held my hand & walked down the sidewalks. He stopped to look at the water. He went in to the playground & played on the slide & swing. When it was time to go home, he got out of the swing without fussing & held my hand to walk back to the car. He never ran, cried, crawled, fussed, & didn't put anything in his mouth! I was amazed! Today we went to the zoo, and I expected disaster. But, he was perfect again. I had his monkey harness/leash on in case he tried to run, but he didn't. He held my hand most of the time while we were walking. Now, I have learned not to judge parents & kids when you are out, because you just don't know the circumstances. I have been the parent with "that child" too many times, and it isn't his fault or my fault....its just the way it is sometimes in our situation. However, in both of the previous outings, I was so excited to NOT be the parent with the misbehaving child. While we were at the park, there was a little girl holding on to the swing, kicking & screaming when she was told it was time to go home. And today at the zoo, we saw a little boy peeing into the parrot exhibit! His mom was horrified when she looked up & saw him doing it! I didn't laugh until I was around the corner....partly because it was funny & partly because I am well aware that my day is coming for that sort of thing. I was just so impressed with Joshua the past two weeks that I had to share. A couple of months ago, we couldn't even imagine being able to take him to the park or zoo without chaos. He really has come a long way!

On a side note, there was a great article in the current issue of Birmingham Parent magazine written by the father of a special needs child. You can read it on the website: http://www.birminghamparent.com/. Click on the little magazine at the top to download the magazine online & the article is on pages 30-31. This issue has a special section for families with special needs, which has some great articles. Check it out if you have time.