|
designs on hope
Sometimes you redesign life, and sometimes life redesigns you. No one knows that better than the Farmer family. In 1994, Kip and his wife, Maria, welcomed their first of three wonderful boys. Concerns about an overly fussy baby and a quiet toddler slowly deteriorated into the heartbreak known as autism.
Jackson Wyatt Farmer is a beautiful and loving child, who is on the more severe end of the autism "spectrum." Jackson struggles daily with significant deficits in communication and socialization. He is plagued with unpredictably volatile behaviors. Although the obstacles are great, his spirit shines through the disability. "There is no shortage of joy from life with Jackson," says his father. "The challenge comes from watching him suffer."
When Jackson was born, approximately one in every 2,500 children delivered had the disability. Today, that statistic is one in 150 (source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). This is a staggering fact that touches many of us today and will soon impact our culture as a whole.
|
