My son Bradley was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, NOS at age three. Initially, I prayed for God to take away Bradley's autism. I knew God was powerful enough to remove Bradley's autism if it was His will. Bradley's symptoms weren't severe, but I worried about his future in public school with learning challenges and possible ridicule from classmates over symptoms like hand-flapping. After a year of hard work with speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, private tutoring, application of these services in our home, and the birth of my second son, we were seeing gradual improvement in Bradley's communication, social skills, and focus in learning.
Public Pre-K was approaching and I was concerned about how the next year would go for Bradley. It was then that I realized that my prayer for Bradley's autism to be taken away was the wrong attitude to have. God doesn't make mistakes. Bradley is perfect the way God has made him. It wasn't Bradley that needed to change, it was me. My prayer life changed to focus more on God helping me become a better mother and advocate for Bradley by helping him in every way I could. I am a licensed therapist and psychology instructor for a community college in Texas. While Autism Spectrum Disorders were not previously my area of expertise, I have made it my mission to become as educated as possible in understanding and treating Bradley's autism.
Bradley is now 5 years old and continues to make improvement in all areas. I am thankful for the work God is doing for Bradley through me. I am now working to educate my family and community by blogging about Bradley's strengths and challenges and embracing him for the wonderful and amazing little boy he is.
Boling, TX
