{"id":12074,"date":"2018-05-22T18:43:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T18:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poac.net\/?p=12074"},"modified":"2024-02-22T13:08:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:08:45","slug":"somebody-up-there-likes-me","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.poac.net\/blog\/somebody-up-there-likes-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Somebody Up There Likes Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At five years old my son Christopher was only able to say three words- Rooster, Ketchup and No. \u00a0\u00a0I always joked that they were not the best words in the world, but we were so happy to have them.\u00a0 Chris, at the time with no functional communication and severe problem behavior, was a handful to say the least.\u00a0 Today, at twenty-four, he is a complete joy and never stops talking.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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Late for Church<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, picture the five of us running late for church \u2013\u00a0 Chris\u2019s mom, myself and our three small children. Chris was five and his siblings were three and one at the time.\u00a0 It was Easter season, so the church was packed with hundreds of people.\u00a0 We walked through the doors and stood against the back wall with our three kids.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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Room Upfront<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The only seats available in the entire building were in the very front pew, and we had no intention or desire to sit there.\u00a0 We were perfectly content to stand in the very back, just in case the need arose for a speedy getaway.\u00a0 The usher saw us struggling with the children and gave us the sign to move up the main isle and sit in the front pew.\u00a0\u00a0 I politely waved my head no, but he kept on signaling us to move up front, and I kept on shaking my head no thank you.\u00a0\u00a0 Not accepting my denial, the well-meaning usher walked down the aisle to personally escort us to the front pew.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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The Longest Walk Ever<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, I bowed my head and the five of us walked the green mile to front pew.\u00a0 I remember literally praying to God to let Chris be good, please be good.\u00a0 I figured we were in His house, so He must be listening I laughed to myself.\u00a0 So, we took our seats and brought out our little \u201cChristopher-be-good bag\u201d filled with his favorite things.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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Ask a Question\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Normally our priest and his sermon were very restrained, and I would find myself checking my watch to see how much longer service, and frankly Chris, would last \u2013 But not today.\u00a0 Today we had a visiting missionary and he was the old fashioned \u201cFire and Brimstone\u201d evangelical type of priest.\u00a0 Very animated and passionate in his sermon, he shouted to the congregation, \u201cARE YOU WILLING TO PUT GOD BEFORE YOURSELF?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Well, Chris jumps up in the pew and screams at the top of his lungs, \u201cNO WAY!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The priest went on, \u201cARE YOU WILLING TO PUT GOD BEFORE YOUR JOB\u201d and again Chris jumps up and screams \u201cNO WAY!\u201d\u00a0 The priest asked five different questions and got the same five answers from Chris, \u201cNO WAY!\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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Heaven and Hell<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By this time half the church was laughing out loud and all the while I was rubbing Chris\u2019s back saying, \u201cGood talking, good talking.\u201d\u00a0 You see, this was the first time ever that Chris spoke two words together. I was overjoyed, but still thought I was going to hell for allowing my son to heckle a priest.\u00a0 We have come so far since that day and I cannot wait to see what incredible gains my amazing son will continue to make every single day.<\/p>\n

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Gary Weitzen<\/h3>\n

POAC Executive Director<\/p>\n

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Gary Weitzen, the Executive Director of POAC Autism Services, also holds a certified law enforcement instructor title in New Jersey and has 20 years of experience in risk management. Besides managing POAC, he’s spent 15 years teaching life skills to adults with autism. A notable autism advocate, Gary has been featured in major media networks and has a son with autism, Christopher.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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From speaking just three words to vibrant communication, this story celebrates the remarkable progress and unexpected joys in the autism journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12064,"template":"","class_list":["post-12074","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nSomebody Up There Likes Me - POAC Autism Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At five years old my son Christopher was only able to say three words- Rooster, Ketchup and No. I always joked that they were not the best words in the world, but we were so happy to have them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.poac.net\/blog\/somebody-up-there-likes-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somebody Up There Likes Me - 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