Jordan

My cousin Jordan is severely autistic. Ever since having my own set of problems with Dominic my aunt has always been there if I had any questions, especially when finding out some of the "traits" he has had. Dominic however is nothing like Jordan.

Jordan is 17 now. My Aunt's son but my Grandmother's baby. She puts on his socks and shoes, fixes his hair, she takes him to the park to play. He gets excited being with kids, flapping his arms and hopping in place. When he was a baby he seemed pretty normal except for a rather large head which runs in the family. However by the time he was 1 ish, it was apparent there were other things going on. He would space out, not talk or notice you were there. As he grew older, his behavior, ticks, flapping, etc were so extremely hard on them both that it was enough that my Aunt and Uncle decided that Jordan would be an only child because he would require so much work. He was enrolled in Early Intervention by the time he was 2 and started meds by the time he was 4. When my uncle would come to family events with my aunt and Jordan the visit would always be short. I felt terrible for my uncle, you could tell he was always embarrassed by his behavior where ever they were to go. I remember when my uncle moved to a new home about 6 yrs ago, it just so happened the boy next door was special needs as well and he and Jordan hit it off becoming great friends the first day they moved in! We were all thrilled watching them. That was Jordan's first "real" friend.

Jordan is doing so well now. Almost ready to graduate, participating in the Special Olympics. His parents have come so far in the past 17 years. So scared, overwhelmed with him as a child to wow, what a blessing he is.