Autism and Growing Up

Jacob turned 14 years old this week. My how time flies!

He was such a sweet boy that tried my patience as a child more than any of my other kids. His autism when he was younger made him completely fearless of any danger. Here are some of the situations he/we survived:

• He would climb the fence at age three and go running through the neighborhood trying to "escape."
• The second we opened the car door he would bolt right towards the street.
• He climbed the ladder up onto our neighbor's roof.
• He jumped into a pool before he knew how to swim.
• He climbed the back of our car, the cabinets, the table, the outside of the stairs...

Well, you get the picture. I remember thinking how glad I was he was still alive at age 5.

I remember being afraid of how he would act when he grew up. The crazy thing about fearing the future is that you spend time worrying and often imagining the worst case scenario.

Now, Jacob has matured so much, and I am so proud of him and the good choices he is making. He doesn't try to escape anymore or climb things he shouldn't (well, maybe he still climbs the outside of the stairs when he thinks I'm not looking). Oh well. That is okay.

 

So, those of you with little ones that are driving you crazy--take heart, they do mature as they grow up (even if they are on the autism spectrum).