Raising A Super Hero

This morning Alex told me he feels as if he doesn't belong to either of his two worlds.  One world being those he encounters who aren't special needs.  The other being the world with special needs children. He has told us this on several occasions and Jacob and I have even talked about it.  We see it every day. We have been asked if he is deaf, because (according to some) only a deaf person would speak the way Alex speaks.  We have been asked if he is mentally ill. There are even those few who cringe and say, "What's wrong with him?"  

As a parent I worry about him.  I wonder how he will handle things when he's a teenager.  What will happen when he goes off to college.  How will he handle things when he becomes an adult and is forced into the real world.  It can be a cold and unwelcoming place.  Alex's world is my world.  My days are spent setting up meetings and appointments, driving him to said appointments, driving him to therapies, getting him to tutoring on time, meeting with specialists, taking him to have more tests run, scheduling surgeries and follow-up appointments. So much time is spent working on every day tasks that are difficult for him, knowing that if we stick with it he will (eventually) be able to easily do these things. 

With all of this comes doubt.  Am I doing all I can to ensure he gets everything he needs? Am I ensuring that he is able to just be Alex and not Apraxic Alex? As his mother I find myself questioning a lot of my decisions, pondering certain outcomes and asking myself if this really is the best decision regarding Alex and his development. 

This morning, as he was telling me about how he was part of these two worlds and felt as if he belonged to neither, I explained that most of us struggle in the one world in which we live.  He is doing an amazing job at fitting into both of his worlds from what I can see.  I know it is frustrating for him and oftentimes overwhelming.  He has a strength that I have never seen in another person.  The photo of him in his Superman shirt (like Clark Kent) is my favorite picture of him.  Clark Kent had his world, Superman had another world, yet it was the same person surviving with dignity in both worlds.  

The evidence proves it.  I really AM raising a super hero.