I gently jiggled Jaxson awake. He gave me a crinkled-nosed smile.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning, pumpkin head.” I planted a kiss on his forehead. Jaxson blew me a kiss back, a maneuver he pulled off with the casual laziness of a pop singer greeting his adoring fans, which certainly included me. My son had been awake only for a few minutes, but he’d already done two things- spoken and shown me affection- deemed beyond his reach only a couple years ago.

I get Jaxson ready for the day, and we head toward his playroom.

“Hut-one, hut-two, hut-three!” I say to Jaxson as I am holding a nerf football. He looks at me with a beaming smile. I say, “Catch!” He puts his arms up and catches the ball. He is laughing and says, “Run!” I run to catch him and miss on purpose. He looks at me with excitement and says, “Catch me, Mama!” I run around crazy and tell him to make a touchdown. He sprints like a pro across the room and yells, “Touchdown!!” I cheer with excitement and run over to him and give him a great big hug. » Continue reading “Part 3: Finding the Right Educational Program : By Kristin Selby Gonzalez Director of Autism Education for Enzymedica Mother of Jaxson, diagnosed with autism”