Never Thought

I never thought Brian wouldn’t have a bruise on his forehead from banging his head on the wall repeatedly throughout the day………….it’s now been three years since he has participated in self-injurious behaviors.

I never thought I would get Brian to eat new foods when I changed his diet…………now he’s licking asparagus and eating hamburgers without dissecting them first.

I never thought Brian would sing a song, I laughed when one of his speech goals was to fill in a word in a song…….now he knows around 20 songs.

I never thought Brian would take his supplements without screaming, kicking, and spitting……now he takes them independently.

I never thought Brian would sleep through the night, just one single night…….now he’s doing so 85% of the time.


I never thought Brian would be able to attend birthday parties without needing to leave early……..at the last one I had three other people remark to me about how well Brian did.


I never thought Brian would learn the alphabet…….not only does he know them, he knows the sound each letter makes.

I never thought I’d see Brian participate in the activities of a school event……..tonight I watched as he allowed himself to be blindfolded and spun so he could pin the arrow on the heart.

I never thought I’d hear Brian say “Mama”………………and I cried so hard when he first did.

When I get down, when I think that I’ll never have a real conversation with Brian, or that he will never make a meaningful relationship with a peer, or he will never get a grip on all the academic stuff, I have to stop myself and think about all the other things I thought would never happen.

Like one of Brian’s favorite scripts, “Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming”.

Heather Nelson

About Heather Nelson

Heather resides in Rockland where she is busy juggling life as a newlywed, a mom to two boys (one of which who has autism), a part time job in direct sales, and a full-time job as a pediatric occupational therapy assistant. She has a love for live music, karaoke, and cheering on the underdogs.