When my baby was born,

He was 9 pounds of love,

with the biggest blue eyes you’ve ever seen.

When my baby was one,

I loved to look at those big blue eyes,

But they never seemed to look back at me

And I rarely got to see them.

When my baby was two,

He loved to watch “Blues Clues,”

But he loved to do it all day long … alone.

When my baby was three,

He was curious,

But he left the house alone

And walked to the school across the street

Scaring us half to death.

When my baby was four,

He started preschool

But he had an aide to help him

And would run to the bathroom

Any time he heard another child cry.

When my baby was five,

He loved his brothers,

But his older brother was diagnosed with autism too.

When my baby was six,

He was in kindergarten learning to cut and color,

But he was alone on the playground

Playing with his hands.

When my baby was seven,

He learned to bounce on a ball at recess,

But he did it alone and did not know

How to invite friends to join him.

When my baby was eight,

He loved to cook and play games with his friends,

But he did that during social clubs

Run by his ABA provider.

When my baby was nine,

He went to his first movie night,

But he sat by his brother

And didn’t talk to anyone else.

When my baby was ten,

He continued to learn new things,

Including the term anxiety

And relaxation techniques.

When my baby was eleven,

He was excited to invite his entire class to his birthday party,

But he has not been invited

to a single birthday party or play date or sleep over in return.

Through each and every one of these years,

My baby has worked hard and loved life

With the most genuine nature you have ever known.

And we have loved him every second of every minute of every hour

Of every day of every year and will love him forever!