April was a long time ago...

Well, guys, it's been over 5 months since I put up my last post. I apologize. A lot has happened since then, though! In July, I had an opportunity to go to Neply, Haiti, and interact with children with special needs there. It was one of the coolest weeks I have ever experienced!

There was a child with cerebral palsy, Malachi, and he was always smiling.  He loved to dance and eat, and was so sweet! His story was heartbreaking, though.  The fire department in Neply found him in a ditch when he was around 3 years old.  People with special needs aren't accepted in Haiti, and many of them are just discarded.  The fire department looked all over for a place for him, but no one would take him, and they were about to just put him back in the ditch. My Life Speaks, the ministry in Neply that I stayed with, however, took him in, and gave him a family.  He loves life!

Me and Malachi! 

 My favorite part from that week happened during a worship session while I was holding Malachi.  He was doing his little dance to the music, which was being sung in Creole, and I was singing and swaying along. It was such a beautiful moment! There I am, an 18-year-old American who can speak maybe 15 words in Creole; and then Malachi, a 6-year-old Haitian with cerebral palsy who knows Creole and has gone through more than I could ever imagine, and yet we were both worshiping the same God.  It still blows my mind when I think about it. God is so cool!

First day of classes!

And now I'm at college! I have been here for over a month, and it's been absolutely crazy. I have learned so much about God and myself, and it's stretched me in a lot of different ways.  Deciding on a school was the hardest decision of my life thus far, and I often think about all that I left at home, but I do believe this is where I should be.  I don't always feel like I should be here, though...sometimes I wonder if I should be doing something else or if I should be majoring in something else, but I know God has a reason for me being here.  I trust that He will get me where I need to be and I truly am loving it here at Lee.
One of my favorite classes is Children with Exceptionalities. It's been really cool to learn about different disabilities and hear my professor's experiences in special education.  She has such a heart for these kids, and it's exciting to see her passion for it. On the other hand, however, is the legal stuff.  That's when I don't know if I'm in the right major: when all the laws comes into play. I know for sure I want to work with kids with special needs, but when we start talking about how "according to IDEA we need an IEP with an LRE and an LEA" it makes me pretty sure I never want to teach in the school system and only ever work in a church or in an orphanage. But who knows where God will take me! Everywhere is ministry.

I realize this was really random and probably a little confusing, but I wanted to give you a little glimpse into my mind and what has happened the past 5ish months. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often and let you know more about my trip and college life in regards to special needs.

Lots of love!

Shawna

Meet Daniel!

This cutie is Mr. Daniel! He has absolutely the sweetest smile and the most adorable laugh.  You will almost always find him with a belt or rope to twirl around and clink on surfaces, and frequently his service dog, Ginger, will be close behind.  He is pretty high-functioning autism.  His mom gives him instructions (ex: put that away, go get your iPad, put this shirt on, go potty, ect.) and he will do them. Sometimes he's a little stubborn and needs a some "encouragement," but he can get the job done. If he wants a snack or something he'll usually get it on his own and then maybe get help to open it.  If he wants something not in reach he uses an app on his iPad to express it.

The things that make Daniel most happy are campfires in the backyard, trips to Walmart, trips to Grandma's house, baths in a big plastic storage box, ice cream, Sonic's mozzarella sticks,  jumping on the trampoline (preferably without clothing on), and swimming at a friend's house.  When he's happy he likes to jump, giggle, and squeal, and one of the coolest things about Daniel is lots of times he's happy for no reason. He'll just walk into a room and start laughing and you can't help but laugh with him. It's contagious.

The two things that mainly get Daniel mad are not getting his way and when there are storms. The barometric pressure really messes with him, and his mom can always tell how the weather's going to be by the type of day Daniel has. Keeping him happy can be hard to do because sometimes a run to Walmart just isn't possible, and sometimes Sonic's out of mozzarella sticks. The hardest part about Daniel is when he gets mad. It's extremely difficult to make him content again, and when he's angry it usually involves screaming, hitting, and ramming his head into the floor or wall, among other things. It's not pleasant, and it can be exhausting.

Which brings me to another point: Daniel's parents are amazing! While I don't know his dad as well, his mom is Wonder Woman! She's such a giving person who will be there to help in any way possible at any given moment. She takes care of her family, friends, the house, and a bazillion other thing all at the same time. How she does all she does it I have no idea, but I pray many blessings upon her and her family! I'll talk more about them later, though. :)

Well, I hope that gives you a good picture of Mr. Daniel.  You will get to hear many stories about and lessons from him in the future.

God bless!

Shawna

Definition

One mistake that many people make when it comes to disorders like autism is to take all of these disorders, put them in one big box, and place a label on it like Down syndrome.  Well, Down syndrome is not autism and the two have many differences, but that's another blog post. For now, I just want to give you a simple (very simple) definition of what autism is.

According to Autism Speaks, autism is a general term for a group of "complex disorders of brain development."  These disorders vary widely in range of severity, from simply having trouble in social situations to not being able to speak, and from being able to live independently to needing some sort of caretaker. Rett syndrome and Asperger syndrome would both be placed into the category of autism.

The three kids I work with are all nonverbal, but they are all very smart.  All three of them can understand and follow instructions (some more willing than others) and communicate what they want in different ways. For example, Sarah will usual just grab my hand and take me to what she wants. Daniel, who will be properly introduced in my next blog, will lead me to what he wants, too, but also uses an app on his iPad.

I hope that gave you maybe a tiny idea of what autism is and what it's not.  Apart from my experiences and what I've researched, I don't fully understand it. Each child is different, and I don't think anyone will ever fully understand autism, but I am simply thankful that I know these kids!

Why Mustard?

Mustard? Yes, mustard.  The name "A Spoonful of Mustard" comes from one (out of many) of the favorite stories I have from hanging out with these kids. 
One night while I was babysitting Sarah, she kept wanting to get into the fridge for the bottle of mustard.  It's not that she wanted it with her supper or squirted on her snack, she just wanted to suck it down. In an attempt to satisfy her, I got out a piece of bread and made her a gourmet mustard sandwich (gross, right?). This, however, did not quench her craving. Over and over and over she tried to squeeze herself between me and the fridge to get the bottle of yellow mustard, until finally she gave up on that approach and decided a tantrum might be more effective.  She threw her seven-year-old self on the kitchen floor and literally kicked and screamed.  Not moved, I stood over her and said, "No, Sarah. I know what you're doing! Stop. You can't have the mustard."  She then got up off the floor, started giggling with that cunning smile on her face, and skipped out of kitchen.  It was a test! It was a test, and I passed! I couldn't help but feel a little proud.  It also reminded me of what a smart, mischievous, unpredictable, clever little girl she is.

So there you have it!

A Spoonful of Mustard

The Beginning

         A life can be completely altered in a single moment.  Though it might not be clear at first, the change is evident looking back to the one instance, no matter how small, that revolutionized the rest of someone’s life.  I experienced a moment like that, and it happened in my church when I was in seventh grade. I would never have fathomed just how much a two-year-old girl, Sarah, would change and shape my life when I first met her.  She was not like the other two-year-olds in the Sunday school class where I helped, for she did not talk, and while other kids chased each other and tried to force play food into my mouth, this little girl did her own thing.  It was not until many months later that I found out what set this toddler apart from the others: she was autistic.
A little over a year later, I became Sarah’s “shadow” at church, someone who could keep a close eye on her, play with her, and make sure she did not get into anything she was not supposed to.  I quickly learned that this job was not as easy as I thought it would be.  In fact, it was really hard, for this petite brunette was unexpectedly swift and incredibly clever.  If she did not get what she wanted, she was liable to bite, pinch, pull hair, or ram her head into my stomach.  I found myself tired and surprisingly sore after shadowing her, and a week later I would still have bite-shaped bruises.
I could have given up and let someone else watch her, and I suppose my current life would be a lot different, but I was determined to keep going, and I am grateful I did.  I started to get a glimpse into how Sarah’s mind worked.  She loved stacking things, playing in water, and having her hand drawn, and when she got a certain cunning grin on her face, I knew she was about to make a dash for the open door.  I started to fall in love with her mischievous spirit and joyful giggle, and I could tell she liked me, too, for she would gesture for me to hold her, or crawl up in my lap and fall asleep.  It still was not easy, for challenges almost always arose, but it was always worth it.
I then started working with other autistic children in my church, and I learned that they were all very different.  Each child had something that made them frantic, and something that made them laugh uncontrollably, but they all brought a joy to my heart and a smile to my face.  I got to know the families of these children, and started babysitting them on a fairly regular basis.  I learned a lot about what autism really is, the different levels of severity, and the many things that families with autistic children have to sacrifice and adjust in their everyday lives.
That takes me to where I am now.  I am a senior in high school who is asked 15 times a day what I want to do for college.  For a while, I did not know how to respond to this frequently asked question, but now I smile and tell them that I want to major in special education.  I realize that if I had not been working in that two-year-old Sunday school class five years ago with that little, curious girl, then special education would probably not be my choice major or career.  I am overjoyed, however, that that is the path that God lead me on, and I am immensely thankful for that one moment that is shaping the rest of my life.

Hi, I'm Shawna.

Hello, there! My name is Shawna Wood and I am a senior in high school.  God has placed in me a love for autistic children, and because of this love I have learned a lot over the years about these kids and their families.  While awareness of autism is growing, many people still don't understand it and really don't understand those with autism.  The goal of my blog is that my readers will get a glimpse into the minds and personalities of autistic kids, the lives of their families, and, above all, how clever, joyous, smart, and fearfully and wonderfully made they are!

Please feel free to leave comments, especially if you have experience with and stories about autistic kids, or have questions that I could possibly answer.

God bless!

Shawna