See the talent, not the tag. |
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Our Superhero, Sias!Our son, Sias, was born in the middle of December, following a perfectly normal pregnancy journey. He was the most beautiful little baby boy and same as any new parents, we had so much plans and dreams for his future…still do! He really was the sweetest baby boy, always smiling and happy and reached all his developmental milestones right on time. At around 8 months of age we began to realize a few little things for instance he does not respond to his name, seemed sensitive to loud noises, as well as a delay in his speech development, the first step was to take him for a hearing test, as well as a few other medical exams over time, of which the results all came back normal. |
From a very young age Sias loved lining up his toys in rows and playing with his toys in a ‘different way’, he loved spinning the wheels on his toy cars/trains and each of his toys had its own special place somewhere in the house where he put them and it dare not to be moved out of place. Sias did not like walking barefoot on the grass or busy play areas, or touching anything that would make him dirty or have a strange texture. He was a picky little eater (still is, but much better now), he would only eat food with neutral colours and till this day he only drinks water. At 10 months, we received the diagnosis that Sias has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), and he started attending Occupational Therapy as well as Speech Therapy once a week.
Sias has an exceptionally huge interest and love for animals that already started from a very young age and he knows every detail there is to know about any type of animal in the world. At the age of 2, we were informed by a paediatric neurologist that ‘Sias is diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)’. Those words led us to a whole new world, one we knew existed, but was an unknown world to us. We soon learned that the world can be very cruel at times, judgmental and unknowledgeable, but can also be understanding and lovable and kind… You just need to surround yourself with people who truly care, understand, and share the love you have for your child.
Our personal view has always been ‘Sias is Autistic’ and not ‘Sias has Autism’, as we do not believe that Autism is a disease. Autism to us is not a disease or a disability, our son is just as able and capable of achieving anything he sets his heart on in this world, no different from any other child. He may have to work a little bit harder to achieve his goals in life, but we believe in him and he keeps on making us so proud every single day! In our eyes, he is perfect, and even if we had a choice, we would have it no other way. Sias has the kindest heart and loves making friends, and if you meet him, you cannot help to fall in love with him and his beautiful smile.
This year, Sias is 8 years old… if we look back now to where we started at the beginning with all the unanswered questions and insecurities, and fears about the unknown road ahead, we cannot help but be proud and extremely excited about what lies ahead. It has not always been easy, but seeing the love and kindness in our son’s eyes every day definitely makes it all worth it.
“Autism is a journey we had never planned, but we sure do love our tour guide!”