I am Logan's GrandPappy

Who is Logan you ask?  Well Logan is my grandson and he is two years old. Logan has a fraternal twin brother.  He is also handicapped in that he is autistic.  Now when you think of autism you automatically think.....oh...the kid is mentally retarded, and that is not the case.  Logan is pretty smart.  It's just that he doesn't communicate the same as other people. Logan doesn't trust easily.  When we go to his house (which we normally do every Sunday), it takes him at least an hour to warm up to his Grandma and me.  Logan uses several ways to communicate, some of which I don't understand well.  He uses sign language, some limited verbal language, and body language. 

It hasn't been easy to understand Logan.  We love him as we love all of our grand children, but I have trouble interacting with him because he doesn't warm up to me well.  I admit that I might be a little scary to him.  I'm on the high side of huge and he isn't.  However, eventually he will allow me to hold him and visit with him one on one.

Logan's mother is saintly.  She has 6 other children to deal with and often must do it alone.  The older children are wonderful helpers, and handle many of the caretaker chores for these twin brothers, but ultimately the work of raising the children falls to her.  I believe my daughter would not cope well without the help of her older children. 

I guess the reason for this posting is this.  Special needs children often need more than their parents can do alone.  Grand parents, older siblings, neighbors, support groups, church groups and friends are integral parts of parental sanity.  Sometimes just a kind word is enough to help.  Sometimes parents need a day off from the intensive crowd control that is required.  I appreciate all the kindness and support shown to my daughter and her family