Those of you who have been following our recent journey to help our son Will work through his speech development delay have gained a glimpse of our challenges and triumphs through Amy’s eyes. Amy is clearly the best person to document this process for so many reasons. She is an incredible mother and nobody loves our boys more than her. She is also relentless when she needs to be and will not allow obstacles to stand in the way of Will getting the help he needs.
In the end when Will has effectively overcome this challenge he will mostly have Amy to thank. I wish that I had more time to talk to teachers and therapists and tear down red tape, but right now my involvement is less hands on. Amy is a better writer than I am, but I wanted to share my perspective, if for no other reason, I find writing cathartic and I think it will at least be helpful for me to get my thoughts out there.
It is important to note, and I think Amy will share this sentiment, there is not one thing about Will I wish I could change, not even his speech issues. I’ve told Amy repeatedly that if I had the ability to custom-order a son, Will is exactly what I would ask for. The kid is intense and passionate about everything in his world. He throws himself whole-heartedly into each day and each night he fights the urge to sleep until he just can’t stay awake any longer. I admire this about him. If I could meet my days with as much passion and enthusiasm as Will I would be a much better version of my current self.
We’ve known for a while that he’s behind the curve in speech development, but it’s never been a huge concern because there has been plenty of evidence that his wheels are turning. Besides, the kid already has a silky-smooth jumpshot, near flawless golf swing, and a killer fastball. We have just always figured that the talking would come later.
But lately it has become more apparent that Will is recognizing his inabilities to communicate with those in his life. This has been particularly heartbreaking because he does talk, but what comes out of his mouth is mostly unintelligible. Amy and I have often said that we wish we had a translator that would allow us to understand everything he tries to tell us. In the meantime we just do our best to listen to everything he says.
For me it’s been easy to feel guilty about Will’s struggles, and my inability to do more than I am currently able to do. Our move to DC has taken Will out of the only home he’s ever known, with a yard perfect for taking batting practice. This move has also taken him out of a school that he loved and was obviously benefitting him, and he’s had to leave behind all his best friends. What has Will done in return? He has diligently put one foot in front of the other and still walks around lighting up the world with his glowing smile. He continues to move forward rather than looking back. Another attribute that I wish I possessed more of.
While helping Will overcome this obstacle in his life has been difficult, I had a realization the other day that made me love this kid even more – his longest sentence on record is five words in length, “I wub you too dad.” One of these days the raw passion, love, and energy is going to come pouring out of Will’s mouth in coherent, thoughtful sentences. And when it does he will continue to amaze me in a completely different way.
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