David’s presence in the family was always a miracle for them, as the doctors had told Kary that she would be infertile for life and the chances of her having a kid were rare. However, David was welcomed wholeheartedly when she was 40. The mother of the now 21-year-old David penned down how it feels to have a non-verbal autistic son.
As a child, David was perfect. The parents witnessed all the baby’s firsts. Like other children, he hit multiple milestones at a very young age, and his parents loved him immensely. However, when David turned 3, things seemed to change. Something was wrong, as his behaviour showed changes.
From it being hard to speak, losing his fine motor skills, and not being able to walk, seeing their child struggle broke the couple’s hearts. He was soon taken to the hospital, but the doctors dismissed the case and reassured the parents through the phrase that it is normal for boys ot develop later.
Kary was concerned and did not let the matter slip away so easily. The sixth doctor finally diagnosed him with autism, severe regressive autism. Not just this, the doctor also informed the parents about how he was also immunodeficient, and this would limit David’s ability to become normal and get treated. The doctors also suggested that the parents not send him to school. Their delighted family was left heartbroken, as David was the only child, and that too a miracle that they had waited for so many years.
Therapies started soon but resulted in no positive changes. Not just this, he also got his first seizure at the age of 9. The boy’s life was about staying isolated, and it wasn’t just tough on him and Mary, as she wanted her son to be as happy as the other kids his age.
The fact that he could not attend parties, nor make any friends, was enough to break her heart; the decline seen in his physical health was the cherry on top.
Very few people surrounded him in his life, but the ones who were there loved him endlessly. The little circle included Kary, his mom, his father, and his grandmother, who passed away in 2017. Kary often used to sit confined to her room and ponder how David felt about his life. The thought that David might feel lonely most of his life scared her.
In 2021, something surprising happened. David approached Kary and asked her a question that stunned her: ‘Could someone like me?’ The fact that he had been nonverbal since the diagnosis and struggled to form the question, but was able to do so, surprised the mum.
At that moment, the mother did not know how to feel. She was in tears, all emotional but happy simultaneously, so she shared the lovely moment on her social media platforms. To her surprise, people sent David love from all over the globe, and not just this, but media channels and newspapers approached them to cover David’s life story.
Every time she read the message out loud to David, he expressed his love in one way or another. That one question from him changed his life, as he now knows he isn’t alone. Little gestures matter the most!
