The Miracle of Learning
What I learned about learning from my children.
My first two children both have disabilities: Williams Syndrome and Autism, respectively. Because of this, both are non-verbal and have struggled to meet certain developmental milestones. Hours upon hours of speech, physical, behavioral, and occupational therapies have been spent working on things like walking, talking, eating, and a multitude of social skills. This has been our reality for the last five years.
Three years ago, my youngest child was born, and he has shown no signs of any disabilities. He continues to meet his milestones and developmental standards for typical children. What is so amazing about this is how little this has actually required of us. I don’t mean to sound belittling, but parenting a typical child, while not easy, is by a long shot much simpler.
With my oldest autistic son, we often repeat ourselves dozens of times just to get him to say what food he wants. With our son with Williams Syndrome, we are teaching him to use his AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device to express simple needs, like saying, “I am thirsty.” Yet I will wake up to my three-year-old, inches from my face, saying things like:
“Good morning, Dad. I would like something to eat, please.”
With my oldest, I have spent hours with toys, trying to get him to play with cars or other simple activities. Yet with my youngest, I will overhear him saying:
“Hello, Mr. Duck. Would you like something to eat?”
My youngest will then respond in the voice of Mr. Duck:
“Yes, can I have some soup, please?”
Then he will go to his play kitchen, gather ingredients, and pretend to make him some soup.
An infinite amount of information is being caught rather than explicitly taught. His little brain is filled with far more than we could ever expect. I know, in my heart of hearts, that this is the typical experience and that my child is simply meeting developmental standards. But because we have lived in the world of disability for so long, we see this for what it really is: the miracle of learning.
Very little of this has been intentional. We have intentionally taught him things like manners, respect, love, and devotion to God, but the basics—walking, talking, communicating—have come as gifts from heaven.
Whether you have a child with disabilities or your child is typical, don’t miss the miracles in front of you. Give praise to God that He has made your child in His image, fearfully and wonderfully made:
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14, ESV)