Mom thanks God for showing her beauty in autism

April 14-- Apr. 14--The White family is relatively new to the world of autism, but mom Katie White says they have managed to find beauty in it.

Parker, 5, was first given an educational diagnosis when he was 3. His pediatrician noticed he was delayed verbally and recommended him to a speech therapist, who noted other signs of autism. White said on a scale of 1 to 10, Parker fell in the "severe" range at 9.

"For our family, it just began a new journey of learning about his disorder and how to be the best child God created him to be," said White.

They began working with therapists and Parker's school. Parker is nonverbal, so he communicates through a Language Acquisition through Motor Planning, or LAMP, app on an iPad.

Parker has also been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, meaning his brain has trouble receiving and responding to information from his senses. Certain smells or sounds can overwhelm him.

"When he's getting his hair done, the sound of a buzzer or scissors close to his head can send him into sensory overload," White said. "... It's so much for him to handle that he thrashes and can kick or cry."

White praised his Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapists for working with Parker to teach him how to handle having his hair or nails trimmed.

"There's still some tears, but not so much thrashing and kicking around on the floor," she said.

The family also discovered Parker had epilepsy. At first, White said, they thought it was autism causing him to space out and be "in another world." After Parker had a two-minute seizure that required a call to 911, they realized there was more to the moments.

He now takes medication to reduce the seizures, which generally last a few seconds at a time.

"They are sometimes hard to detect," White said. "They're not the typical seizure where a child may be convulsing on the floor. ... It almost looks like he's daydreaming."

She said his main trigger is sleep deprivation. The night he seized for two minutes was after a full day at school, followed by an evening at church. However, other factors, such as flashing lights from toys or even a change in weather pressure, can cause his seizures.

Starting school

While most kids start kindergarten at age 5, White said Parker was held back a year to give him more time with the prekindergarten group at iAcademy at Athens Elementary.

"We cannot say enough great things about his pre-K program," White said. "It's a peer model program, where they pair Parker with typical children."

She said the children must go through an interview process to show that even at 3, 4 or 5 years old, they have the leadership skills to handle being the friend, voice and helper to someone with special needs.

"He has peer models that do school with him and walk alongside him, and he can watch them and learn from them," White said. "We have seen him socially grow just from being paired with these peer models."

Beauty in autism

White, who serves as the girls ministry director at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, said God has brought some really great people into their lives through autism. She also gives God credit for the lessons she's learned along the way.

"It has kind of redefined what is important and what we want for our child," she said. "For Parker, we want him to be able to thrive here to the best of his ability. ... We struggle not to compare him to other kids, but autism has taught me he is his own individual and Parker needs to be the best Parker he can be."

She said she and her husband Britt have also learned to relinquish control over their child's future.

"If anything, the Lord is showing how to trust God is in control," White said. "I want to be in control, but autism has taught me I can't. I don't know if he'll ever be able to talk to me, hold a conversation with me, drive with these seizures, be married ... You don't think things most people think."

That said, she wants others who are new to autism to realize there is beauty behind the diagnosis.

"There is a type of future that every parent wants for the kid, and it's OK to mourn that loss, but the beauty is the Lord will bless you," she said. "You will be given so much more beauty through all of it."

White said she feels blessed to have "such a dear and special child like Parker," even when it seems strange that someone who teaches public speaking for a living and counsels young women gave birth to a son who doesn't speak.

Regardless, she said, the day-to-day journey with autism has brought some really amazing people into their lives, and she doesn't think her family would have ever met or learned as much without it.

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