Peter Pan

Anyone who knows our family knows that Noah is a huge Disney fan. Because of this, Halloween costumes in this house have revolved around characters such as Pooh and Tigger, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. My personal favorite was the latter. Hannah made a perfect Tinker Bell with her blond hair in a bun on top of her head and those beautiful blue eyes! Noah made a very handsome Peter Pan, pointed green shoes and all.

In the Disney animated classic, Peter Pan and the other characters in Neverland never grow up. As parents, we often say we want to keep our children young for as long as possible. We wish they would stop growing, so we can cherish those special moments like snuggling, reading stories, and kissing boo boos to make them better.

Having Noah is similar to having a child that will stay young forever. His interests, social skills, and conversational skills have not significantly progressed in the last four years. In fact, his interests have started to regress over the last week. Teletubbies, Elmo, and Dora are topics that have reappeared after a year or more of being eliminated. (Really - I got rid of ALL things Teletubby in the house!)

Noah may possibly never grow to the level of independence required to be on his own. But instead of mourning the loss of a future most people would hope for their child, perhaps those of us with an autistic child can rejoice. I have a child that will not grow up. He will more than likely never move away to college. He will never tell me he doesn't need me. He will always need me. We will always have the Mother-Son relationship of snuggling, reading bedtime stories, and just giggling because it feels right at the moment. Making shadow pictures on the walls with our fingers will never grow old, or become too childish. We have forever.....just like in Neverland!