An insert I made for our Church Buletin for Fragile X Awareness Day.

A child that doesn't play with toys because he has no imagination. A child that can't tell anyone when he's hurt, or sad, or tired because he doesn't know how to share those feelings. A child that doesn't say "I love you" to anyone... because to him... those are just words; they have no meaning. That child that I'm speaking of... is my child. Jonathan was around a year and a half old when we got his diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome, which is a genetic developmental disorder. Like so many others, I had never heard of it, let alone the fact that I was the one who could pass it on to him. Despite all of his developmental delays we were always told that he would catch up, and that kids just develope at different speeds. Deep down I knew it was something much more serious than that. 

At two years old, Jonathan wasn't sleeping through the night. His speech was significantly delayed, and his behaviour was very hard to control. Sometimes we would just hate going out into public because of all the anxiety it created for Jonathan. He gets so overwhelmed by noise and people, and sometimes we just weren't able to control him, so we would have to come home.

Jonathan (now age four) is doing much better. His speech is still delayed, but he's improving everyday. His behaviour is still sometimes difficult to control, but we have more good days than bad. You can really tell that he's starting to grow into his own personality. My son is affected by Fragile X Syndrome but I don't have a fragile son. He's full of life... and truly knows the meaning of living each day to its fullest. After all is said and done, I believe I'm one of the luckiest mothers in the world. My son will never know hate. He won't be discriminatory or racist. I won't have to worry about him growing up to be a womanizer. He won't be a bully. He won't be an abuser. Instead he will continue to give kisses and hugs, even when others his age might be embarrassed. Instead he will love everyone he meets unconditionally; and for that, I am thankful. We have great hope for him. He's already taught us so much about life, now we're just trying to tell others about his story by sharing a glimpse into our lives. All we want is for people going through something like this to know that they are never alone.

Credit goes to Mary Beth Langan for doing all the editing!! :) Thank you!!