Lead Us, Lord

The Lord says, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." - Psalm 32:8

A day after my son's diagnosis, my husband and I did not waste any time getting in touch with people and centers that could provide intervention for our Warrior Prince. We called up schools, therapy centers and asked friends for recommendations. We scheduled assessments and committed ourselves to helping this wonderful boy. We also did our own research regarding his condition. I've spent late nights reading books and journals and absorbed everything that my mind could hold. He was into early intervention at the age of 2 years and 3 months. He started school and Occupational Therapy. Speech therapy followed the following year. He was non-verbal at 3 years old. We added ABA (Applied Behavior Therapy) before he turned 4 and at the same time we were introduced to the other forms of intervention such as the GFCF (Gluten-Free Casein Free) Diet and Biomedical intervention for Autism.

Even if we knew so little about the condition and the interventions in the beginning of our journey, we felt the Lord's hand guiding us along the way. He alone gives peace in our heart inspite of our son's condition. He also led us to consider home therapy programs to supplement existing therapy goals. We saw our son progressing rapidly maybe because we were able to do the activities and exercises on a regular basis and we were able to tailor fit each activity according to his needs compared to the usual once or twice a week therapy sessions. Warrior Prince spent 2 years in a SPED school. On his 2nd year, he was presented with the "Moving Up Award" for showing dramatic cognitive, physical, emotional and social improvements over the school year. His Developmental Pediatrician gave us his go signal to put him to a regular class so he was mainstreamed the following schoolyear. It was nearing the end of the schoolyear when we felt the Lord calling us to homeschool. It was a tough decision to make since socialization was a major factor for Warrior Prince being in school. We exerted all effort to look for that "perfect" school for him but it seemed that all roads lead to homeschooling. So in the end, we prayed for guidance and just decided to obey. We have been homeschooling for two years now and it has been a wonderful experience for the entire family. Everything is falling into place. We are just so happy with how things are turning out for Warrior Prince and the whole family ever since we started with our homeschooling journey. We continue to feel God's presence in our lives, guiding, loving and leading us to which path to take next.

Aside from all these, prayer is still our most powerful form of intervention. We continuously ask for prayers from family and friends and together we storm heaven with our thanksgiving and prayers for our son's recovery and healing. Yes, healing and recovery! We believe that recovery from Autism is possible! Even though doctors would say that Autism is a lifelong condition, we continue to hang on to the Lord's promise of a beautiful life for our family and for our son. For nothing is impossible for those who believe.

For now, we open our hearts to the Lord's leading. Which way now? This way? Or that way? Come journey with us and be amazed with God leading the way!