Singing in Color

As we neared the end of our time with the developmental preschool, I was finding myself frequently overcome with fear. In the preschool he was safe, loved, growing, thriving. He was getting speech and occupational therapy of a really high caliber. He was accepted by his peers and comfortable. His teachers, paraprofessionals, and therapists were not just people whose job it was to help our son, they became much like family. They would send text messages to tell me how Miles was doing or worried when he would regress and check in to see if things changed. Their love and caring for my son was more than I could ever have dreamed. The thought of losing them as a daily part of Miles' life was not only sad, but terrifying. How would he handle that transitions when even small transitions were a struggle for him? Would the next set of teachers and paraprofessionals and therapists have the same interaction with Miles or would we end up in one of the horror stories you read about online where kids are abused or ignored when teachers get frustrated? These worrisome thoughts would come and go, but they were always replaced by a gratitude for these people currently in his life that was so strong, there were no words of thanks great enough. I wanted to give them a thank you gift that would help them remember Miles forever, just like we would remember them forever. This thought, combined with the worry that the kids at Miles new school wouldn't accept him planted the seed for the book, Singing In Color.

Before we began speech therapy in the school system, I would find that Miles could not even follow single step directions very often without a mini meltdown. If I would ask him to head upstairs for a shower, instant tears. However, if I would make up a silly shower song and sing to him, he would run upstairs with no complaint. We were noticing things like this were happening elsewhere than home too. In Sunday School, he would be pacing and wandering at the back of the classroom, but could sing the bible song back word for word even though no one thought he was listening. Slowly we found he could even memorize bible versus when they were sung to him. Singing was breaking through a barrier in his brain to help us to communicate. I was trying to describe to my husband how beautiful I thought it was and said, "It's like we sing in color!" and the fuse was lit! I decided that was what I was going to do. I was going to write a children's book that would show the kids how beautiful Miles' mind actually was and would give it to his teachers as a gift and let him take it to Kindergarten to pave the way for acceptance. When I sat down to right it, it flowed out much like the silly songs I would make up for him to follow directions. I decided if Miles learned to communicate by singing initially the book should be able to be read or sung as well.

I had a dear friend make some lovely illustrations for it, and the first version of Singing In Color was born. The gift was a hit. Slowly the book began to be passed around to different family members of people it was given to, or fellow educators. The feedback I was getting was so positive, people were encouraging me to publish it. Self doubt is a real thing though. I thought there was no way I would get published or that anyone outside of our circle would really find value in it.

Fast forward to a few months into Miles school year. I was accompanying him on a field trip when I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a fellow mom smiling at me. She asked if I wrote my son a book. I said yes I did, how did you know? She said after the teacher read the book to the class, her daughter came home so excited about it. She told her mom that now she understood that God made Miles different and that was why she liked it so much. That one moment sealed the deal for me. The book served its purpose. If it could help Miles, maybe it could help other kids, too? Thankfully, PenIt! Publications agreed and Singing In Color was officially released April 2020.  While the autism journey has had it's ups and downs, this book really helped to highlight some of the really great things that has come along because of it. And just so you know, Miles has more amazing teachers, paraprofessionals, and therapists who love him in his new school, just like his old one. He also has amazing classmates who care for him and value him for exactly who he is. I could not be more grateful.