Education Commons^™

A Mother’S Prayer Through The Five Words Of A Son With Autism, Melinda S. Burchard Ph.D.

Faculty Educator Scholarship

Recently, my friend has been figuring out that her child has autism, processing what that means for education, for church, and for family life. She grapples with lost expectations, daily challenges, confusion, and isolation. My parenting journey is not her own, but I relate to her pain and her hopes. I wrote this first for her and now share this piece in love specifically for parents of children with disabilities. Through a very specific lens of parenting a child with a disability, using the five words of my son with severe autism, I reflect upon the deep meaning of the …