SPECIAL LIFE^® Stories - A Sibling Perspective

Ryan (14) describes what it is like to have brother with autism.

Hello, my name is Ryan, I am 14 and I have two brothers, Tyler (12) and Kyle (10). It just so happens that Tyler has autism. It is really interesting, but sometimes it can be hard when he cries or gets frustrated. This is especially difficult at night because I share a room with him. One summer, he went through a time period when all he wanted to do was swing. I would awake at 3:00 AM to him crying, and when my mom or dad came, the first thing he said was "swing." Thankfully, he got over his "swing obsession." 

However, having a brother with autism isn't all that bad. It is also very fun, because I get to do some things that I would have never had a chance to do. Tyler uses ASL (American Sign Language) and limited verbal communication to communicate. Because of that, my youngest brother Kyle and I continue learned sign language with the help of SPECIAL LIFE^® network classes. When talking to Tyler, we can use simple English, but he answers most questions in ASL. Therefore, in order to understand him, we have to learn sign language.

I had mentioned before the summer when Tyler had wanted to swing. That summer, we also succeeded in teaching Tyler many new things, like how to ride a 2 wheel bicycle without training wheels and how to swing without being pushed from behind. (Something we later regretted)

So, in the end, having a brother with autism is both fun and challenging. It has its goods and bads, just like anything else. I believe that God made Tyler special and for a purpose. Without Tyler and other children with special needs, we wouldn't have the SPECIAL LIFE NETWORK! TO BE CONTINUED.....