небелинский

"Your son might work in a grocery store bagging groceries for the rest of his life." Someone said this to me right after my son Jack was diagnosed with autism. Over the years, the words stuck with me. I thought about them when he couldn't sit for circle time in kindergarten. When he couldn't take the bus home from school safely. When he started middle school, then high school. Fast-forward. Jack is twenty-one now. He works in a grocery store. He cuts fruit in the produce department. He works from 8:00 - 2:00 three days a week. He sets his alarm. He puts on his uniform. He walks to the bus station. He arrives on time. In this life alongside autism, I've learned it's not always about the destination, but how you got there in the first place. I've learned that a life lived differently is not a life less lived. Any any work, not matter what kind, is honorable. What a beautiful thing. Please join me in congratulating my son Jack on the first four months at his job. We are fiercely proud of him. Credit: Carrie Cariello