Isaiah is my youngest son. At eight years old he is a ball of energy and cuteness that has no end. He is the youngest of three and my second to be diagnosed with moderate autism. This means he needs considerable help. He’s non verbal but can script to veggietales like nobody’s business. Isaiah also can mand for things. Mand basically means ask for things. He loves to dance along to Yo Gabba Gabba and snuggle with me in bed at night.

Isaiah is the most energetic and perpetually smiley of all my children. As a baby he was not meeting the traditional milestones that “normal” babies should be hitting. We suspected an issue after already going thru the same things with his brother Elijah. He was diagnosed around three with moderate autism. This diagnoses opened the door to services such as ABA therapy, which he gets five days a week, and numerous other services catered to special needs children.

As a father having gone thru this with Elijah already, the hurt and sadness that comes with finding out your child isn’t going to be exactly what you had envisioned wasn’t as severe. I had already realized that having autistic kids is not a burden but rather a different kind of parenting. This absolutely allowed me to be the parent to him I needed to be and not force him into things that aren’t right for him.

Isaiah is sensitive to loud noises, unless they are coming from him. He seems to get joy from torturing his brother Elijah. He loves watching YouTube, VeggieTales, and Yo Gabba Gabba. He surprisingly loves playing with other friends, especially playing chase. If I let him he will eat pepperoni pizza for absolutely every meal. Honestly one of the toughest things with him is getting him to eat anything that’s not a goldfish, pizza, dorito, or strawberry.

Isaiah goes to school from eight to twelve Monday thru Friday. Then he has ABA therapy at one on each of those days. He’s made incredible progress over the last few years and I’m so hopeful that he continues his progress to become an amazing independent man. It is my absolute honor to be his father.