You know, sometimes it feels like our kids go through such drastic changes that it’s hard to believe it’s the same child. Take my son, Ethan, for instance. After years of ups and downs, our seven-year-old has completely blossomed. He went from struggling to finding joy in life, seemingly overnight. This year in first grade, he’s been racking up straight A’s, reading like a champ, making new friends, and throwing himself into karate and soccer, even if the other kids seem way more coordinated.
Back when he was just two, living in Florida, we noticed he was lagging behind in speech and emotional growth. We started therapy, but soon after his little brother, Noah, was born, Ethan got expelled from preschool for biting and tantrums. The teachers said they had “never seen a child quite like him.”
At four, we faced another setback when he was kicked out of a different school for behavioral issues. Parents around us whispered questions like “Is he autistic?” and some even labeled him a bully, wanting him sent to a school for “bad kids.” It was heartbreaking.
We brought in a child psychologist to help, and around this time, he was diagnosed with Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, which caused him to vomit during stressful situations—a nightmare during family holidays. To give him some space, we held him back a year and enrolled him in a Montessori school, where the director identified his Sensory Processing Disorder. His brain struggled to process all the stimuli around him. We added occupational therapy into the mix, but he still had major meltdowns at home, school, and even in public.
One day, he knocked over a bookshelf and accidentally hit his teacher. He was crushed when he couldn’t go on a field trip. He felt bad and admitted, “I can’t control the ‘bad Ethan’ that comes out sometimes.” But through it all, his school and our amazing friends and family provided him with unwavering support.
As we were moving from Florida to Louisiana, we faced another blow when two private schools said they couldn’t accommodate Ethan, even though he showed signs of being bright. It was disheartening, especially when we were hoping for a fresh start. So, we settled in a great public school district—just in time for registration—and sought more help for him. We even considered investing in ADHD medication to help with his impulsivity. But guess what? We didn’t end up needing it!
When Ethan began first grade, something clicked. He has received an A in conduct almost every day, except for a couple when he was “excessively talking” to a new friend (which we totally celebrated!). After nine weeks, he met his reading goals and got rewarded for completing homework and behaving almost perfectly. He went from barely reading over the summer to a level D, and he’s aiming even higher to reach level J for second grade.
One night, he threw his new challenging books down in frustration, but he quickly picked them up again. “If I can’t be the best reader in my class, I’ll at least be the best in my reading group!” he declared.
Now, don’t get me wrong; Ethan’s journey isn’t over yet. He still feels emotions intensely. We’ve had a few breakdowns at karate and school over little things, like us arriving just a minute late. While his vocabulary is impressive, his speech articulation still needs work, and he’s only about 30% understandable.
I share our story because I see so many kids like Ethan out there and parents facing similar struggles. Some kids are like little birds, ready to take flight, while others are stuck in their cocoons, and it can feel like an eternity waiting for change. We keep them surrounded by love—from friends, teachers, therapists, and family—hoping that one day they’ll emerge as beautiful butterflies.
If you’re navigating similar challenges with your little ones, you might want to check out resources like Cleveland Clinic’s podcast for valuable information on home insemination, or connect with others in the Make a Mom Facebook group where you can share experiences. Plus, if you’re considering at-home options, Make a Mom offers the only reusable insemination kits available, which you can learn about here. Their Cryobaby home intracervical insemination syringe kit combo is a great choice, as well as the Babymaker home intracervical insemination syringe kit.
In the end, we just have to keep nurturing our kids, one day at a time.
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