Greybie is the best possible thing that could have ever happened to Chance's life.  If it were not for her, my son would not be emerging from his shell, one slow pace at a time.  The change in Chance has been nothing short of startling.

Chance, who is seven, has autism.  He was diagnosed with it after exhibiting some of the signs (inappropriate playing with toys, not interacting with other children, unusual obsessive behaviors, inappropriate laughing or crying, etc.).  He was two when Chance was diagnosed and the world as we knew it was forever changed.

At seven, Chance does not speak but a few words.  He calms himself by flapping his hands by his face or by spinning around like a top, humming tunelessly.  The world can be a very scary place to a child like Chance; this is why we got Greybie, a Russian Blue/Maine Coon mix, to see if she could bring him out into our world.

Greybie has been a godsend.

Greybie teaches Chance that the world can be a safe, beautiful place.  She is teaching him how to talk or interact with others.  Whenever Greybie is with Chance, he is like a different person altogether: he is spontaneous, quick to smile or laugh, and talks or makes sounds.  His blue-green eyes sparkle with life and he is more receptive to people's affections towards him.

Yet when Greybie is not with Chance, he reverts back to his autism wall and Craig (husband) and myself are both left shaking our heads or grasping at straws, to see what we can do to  possibly help our son to grow and develop skills closer to a child his age.  It is extremely frustrating and Chance is more apt to suffer a meltdown, which seems to set everything back to square one.

We both know that Chance will probably never have a normal childhood or be things like a sports hero or an astronaut, but as long as we have Greybie, then we're happy because our son is happy.  It makes us glad to see him coming along in his walk towards normalcy, even though his life is anything BUT.  We don't know what the future will hold, but as long as Greybie is around, we will continue to let her do her work as his "purr"sonal therapist.