Luke Anthony

Luke holding Faith at the hospital in 2002.

Luke in 2010.

It is amazing to me how much they haven't changed! And how much of their personality is just them. Notice the cowboy shirt? :) When I think of Luke, I think of the past struggles as well as the future. I remember those days of falling on the floor screaming ~ after the two's. In fact, his tantrums didn't start until after the two's. Luke was born screaming, spent the first nine months crying with colic, and then became a pretty happy little toddler. He didn't talk a lot, just pointed. We figured it was because Joey was there and he didn't need to talk much. But before kindergarten, we got him tested for speech through the co-op because the daycare mentioned it. I jumped on it. I knew something was wrong. He still wasn't talking. He fell down a lot. He had meltdowns or tantrums still. And, he didn't seem to be learning at a 'normal' pace. (I was working on ABC's, Counting, and colors) Luke started speech and OT at the age of 4. You would think it would naturally continue when he started kindergarten, but it didn't. It was denied at first. I went above them and he received services starting in kindergarten. It has been a struggle. Each year, he faces new ones. It was around 2nd grade when he started really noticing that he was different. We took him again to the Dennis Developmental Center for more testing. That's the hard part. My struggles for him does not compare to his going through it. In 3rd grade, Luke asked me why God made him different. I told him what I still believe today. God has a purpose. There are no mistakes. Finally, in 5th grade, we got a diagnosis of (high functioning) autism. Something that I figured out when I started checking out every book in the library when he was 4 or 5. Finally, I have an 'expert' telling me what I knew all along.

But Luke is not just autism. Autism is just a part of Luke's life ~ not all of him. Luke is soft hearted. He likes to be outside hiking or fishing. Luke loves the color blue. And, he acts like my Dad and he's proud of it. :~) Sometimes, I think he's an old soul living in a kid's body. He has determination. (a nice word for hard headed! LOL) That is one of his best qualities. Luke gets knocked down and he dusts himself off and tries again. I know that God has something planned for Luke's life. God is accomplishing so much through Luke. I've grown and changed since I've had Luke. Luke has influenced his siblings, his teachers, and his friends. He deserves my best as a mother. That's what I try to give him. I am so proud of him!