Article By:Â Â Ellen Herbert
Article Date:Â Â 09/02/2010
My son’s name is Ben. He is nine years old and was diagnosed with autism at eighteen months. He is in the fourth grade and is in an autism program but spends some special time in the typical class for social benefits. I received an email from his teacher yesterday that some boys were telling him to make inappropriate gestures during lunchtime.
Later in the evening, I found some quiet time to go and pray. My anger turned to fear as I realized just how vulnerable Ben is always going to be in some situations. I began to cry and here he comes putting both arms around me he says, ” Ben’s got you mom”. It became very clear to me the point wasn’t that Ben was taken advantage of, it was that he connected with me in that moment.