Jarrett is our new son, and we cauldn't be any happier than we are right now at the present time.

Jarrett McDaniel came to us last month, and even though there are days where he tests us, most of the time, we enjoy having him here.  We applied to adopt him two years ago, but due to all the red tape we didn't get word that he was going to be ours until three months ago.  We then had to do some heavy duty rearranging to get his room ready and make sure that we were ready to parent a child with emotional problems.

Jarrett is five years old.  He looks like a sweet natured little boy with fire-engine red hair, freckles adorning his nose and cheeks, big, teal-colored eyes, and a knowing smile, but in his case, looks are deceiving.  Jarrett has autism spectrum disorder and defiance disorder, which means that he doesn't associate with people or listen to authority that well, but we are willing to work with him and help him in any way we can.

While Douglas (my husband) and I (Margie) are happy to have him with us, our other children, Morgan Desiree' (10), Ruby Graciela (8), and Tyler Rosetta (4) aren't so sure.  That is only natural, especially whenever Jarrett throws a screaming hissy fit right in the middle of Wal*Mart because we wouldn't let him have some candy or a toy, or when he dumps his food on the floor after we've tried to correct his behavior. 

Jarrett is seeing a therapist every week to help him deal with his behavior, but it's too early to tell whether it is doing any good.  He just started treatment.  We have been reading up on autism or related disorders, and it's only left us more confused.  There are many different types of autism, and it manifests itself in so many forms.

Like most kids with autism, Jarrett has quirks.  He loves oatmeal, but he refuses to eat any other type of cereal.  He also loves pancakes, and he'd be happy having them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He will not eat any vegetables, no matter how hard we try to disquise the taste or beg with him.  If he does, he only spits the veggies back out or purposely makes himself throw up, which is nothing short of disgusting. 

Whenever he is stressed out, Jarrett will flap his hands in front of his face or rock himself.  When worse comes to worse, he will bang his head on the wall or scream like an ambulance siren, keeping us from a good night's sleep.

We don't know what the future will hold for Jarrett, but I do know this:  as long as he is our son, we will do everything to help him succeed in a world not geared for his special needs.

*to be continued.*