TRIUMPH

This morning, I saw this memory (left image) on my personal Facebook. It was a memory from last year.To make a long story short, the transfer we requested was denied; however, our prayers were answered in a different way: Simon is mainstreaming in a general education classroom, has a dedicated 1:1 aide, and is hitting 80-90% in his language/writing and reading scores. Math is a struggle because he dislikes it so much (he is my child after all...) but, even then, he got a 76% in the past trimester. He is socializing and has lots of new friends that love, support, and help him every single day.

Simon still has his quirks - he does not warm up to people right way, he still acts a little odd towards strangers, he practically ignores new people. That will never change. It's part of what makes Simon, well... Simon. My point is: when you give a special needs child (in his case, Autism) the right support from people who believe in him and push him every single day, miracles happen! Success happens!

We could not be more grateful for the amazing group of people he has surrounding him: his GenEd teacher, his 1:1 aide, his ABA team. He has friends, family, old teachers and therapists who are constantly checking up on him to make sure he is fine. For a long time, we mourned people who couldn't understand our journey, who were there out of pity or to feed their own morbid curiosity. Then, one day we realized we are surrounded by unbelievably amazing people who love and support us, who love our children, and who celebrate all of Simon's victories big and small.

I just wanted to write this down for you. But also to remind ourselves of old struggles and where we have been and encourage ourselves to move forward in the right direction. Believe with all your might that success is possible and REAL. Work relentlessly to achieve it. Be not just relentless but unwavering. Success is never a straight line -- there are peaks and valleys, straight smooth lines and swirly messy ones too. It's all part of the journey towards triumph. Don't lose sight of what is important in the process.

There is light after darkness. Truly. There is.