My Nonverbal Son Doesn’t Need A Movie Ending To Be A Hero

Last week was the first time in a long time that I missed an episode of Hi Pod! I’m Dad. The reason was simple: I lost my voice.At first I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. My son Lucas is nonverbal, and I’ve always believed we don’t need words to communicate with each other. But once my voice was gone, I realized pretty quickly that we actually rely on those words more than I thought.That experience led into something I wrote about this week on the blog: autism appreciation. I talk about why appreciating my son’s autism doesn’t mean pretending life is easy or ignoring the real challenges that come with raising a child with severe autism. Those things are real. I just choose not to make them the focus of our story.Lucas is honest in a way most people aren’t. If he’s happy, he’s happy. If he loves you, he loves you. There’s no pretending, no manipulation, no trying to be something he isn’t. That honesty is part of what makes him who he is.I also talk about how surviving a quintuple bypass in 2012 changed the way I see life and parenting. It made me realize that the moments we have right now matter more than the worries about the future.Lucas doesn’t need a movie ending to be a hero. He doesn’t need hidden powers or some big milestone to make his story meaningful.He’s already Lucas. And that’s enough for me.It's Here! Get the book – “Hi World, I’m Dad: How Fathers Can Journey to Autism Awareness, Acceptance, and Appreciation” on audio, digital, or print.Follow Us On TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Also, be sure to read the blog that started it all - Hi Blog! I'm Dad.