Often people see me with my son or hear him over the phone making all kinds of noise and say, “boy you got your hands full huh?” The truth is, they don’t know the half of it. There are days when I could literally pull my hair out (what’s left of it) when dealing with some of the things he does. But all that seems to disappear with one simple hug, kiss, or even just that devious little smile he’s so good at.

You see, Luke is severely autistic. He was diagnosed with this condition when he was about 18 months old. Now, five years later, we have seen so many things from him I don’t know where to begin.

First, let me clarify something about Luke’s condition. When most people hear the word Autism they immediately think “Rainman” or say something like “Doesn’t that mean he’s really smart and can spit numbers out like a calculator?” Well the answer here is no. While he is a clever little guy, he has no verbal skills (although he can be very loud with the screaming at 2 am sometimes) and he is still in diapers at 7 years old. He is very much delayed in a lot of the self help categories like feeding, toileting, and getting dressed. Now don’t get me wrong, he is capable of feeding himself but unless helped and monitored I would probably have to spend a lot of time cleaning up. You see, he doesn’t seem to know that it’s a bad thing to throw food(and other things) on the floor, or on the ceiling for that matter… He just thinks it’s lots of fun.

Seriously though, life with Luke has been “interesting” to say the least. Caring for a special needs child can be a big strain on a person both physically and mentally. And if you think it’s hard under normal circumstances, try doing it as a single parent. But the selfless love that they can give is the most amazing thing in the world. No matter what happens to me or how bad my day is going, I know I can always count on Luke to put a smile on my face. You see, Luke is not a stereotypical autistic child. He likes to be around people just as much as he likes to be alone. And if he isn’t smiling or laughing then something is seriously wrong. He has got to be the happiest kid I know. He knows no fear, (which can be bad at times). He has more selfless love to give than anyone I have ever met. And this kind of unconditional love has really opened my eyes to what really matters in life. When you experience something as powerful as this, everything else just seems to fall in place.