He kicked and screamed and hollored, but I brought him back with me, trying to calm him down with each movement, each word.  Dealing with autistic children takes a lot of patience.  There needs to be much understanding and love.  They can be very loving children at times, and those times are the times that you have to treasure, hold close to your heart and cling to.

   One day, I decided to take Quinn to the park in Grand Ledge.  This is a park that I spent many times at, as a kid growing up.  All of our family reunions were held there.  There is a path down by the river called the Ledges.  Quinn and I were walking down there and I started telling him about the times I had been there as a little girl.

   “I used to be afraid that I would fall into the water when I was little,” I told Quinn.

   “I would save you,” Quinn replied.

   “I am an adult now, Quinn and I think that I would be the one saving you,” I said.

   “No Grandma,” Quinn stated.  “The little girl, when you were a little girl, I would save the little girl.”

   Tears came into my eyes.  “How precious,” I thought.  How precious that he would even think that.  This was a moment that I had reached through his little world and caught a small glimpse of who Quinn really is and could be.

   When my daughter and grandchildren went back to Arizona, Quinn was retested.  My daughter and son-in-law were told that Quinn has Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is a form of Autism.  So what we had suspected all along was finally confirmed. 

   Quinn is now six.  He is better sometimes.  There are times that you would never even know that he has autism, but there are other times, one can tell that he is definetely different.  He has little sayings that he likes to repeat over and over.  He doesn’t want anyone to copy him or sing slong.  They are his special songs and only he can say/sing them.  There are times when he is in his happy place and he doesn’t want anyone to disturb him.  If they do, he gets quite angry.  Sometimes to the point of throwing a screaming fit.  His ears are also very sensitive.  Sometimes he thinks people are talking too loud or there is a noise that bothers him.  My daughter had to buy him some ear muffs so that sounds would not be too loud for his ears to handle.

   Quinn calls me on the phone sometimes.  He will talk about his day.  I have to listen and try to understand what he is talking about or he will get upset.  As long as the conversation is lead by him and I talk about what he wants to talk about, our time on the phone is very enjoyable.  He even says, “I love you Grandma.”  That is priceless.

   For all the times that he doesn’t want to be held, for all the times that he seems out of control, there are those few moments when he does want a hug, that he appears normal and he will say, ” I love you.” Those are the times that mean so much to all of us.  Quinn is a very special boy and I try to stay intuned to his world.  I am grateful that he is in my life and I am also glad that he is a special needs child.  I have always had compassion for special needs children, but Quinn has opened my eyes even more brightly.  My life has been enriched more greatly because Quinn is here.