I am so proud of this kid and how far he has come.

Kody was diagnosed with ASD when he was 2. I remember how hard this was initially on our family. He barely held eye contact, had no interest in physical touch and tantrums and head banging were our everyday reality.

He didn’t start walking until he was almost two, or talking until he was three. Instead, he constructed noises to communicate what he wanted. As his big sister, he wasn’t any different to me. I learned what his sounds meant and was able to communicate on his behalf. We accepted his distancing, knowing he was capable of feeling and expressing love and affection, just in his own unique way.

Over the years, I watched him fight and overcome so many obstacles. One of the toughest was watching him through his schooling years, knowing and hearing about the ruthless bullying he endured just because he was different.

His IQ was too high for a special school, so he was placed in the public schooling system. So determined to be understood and make friends, yet he was teased, mocked and even physically abused. One day coming home and telling us he just wanted to die.
My heart was absolutely shattered.

Even through the bullying he was determined to go to school every day because he simply loved it, and he loved all of his classmates, even those that made his days a living hell.

Now he’s 19 and one of the smartest, most caring and most affectionate humans I know. Still so quirky and unapologetically himself, you honestly wouldn’t even know he has ASD. Never have I met someone with a heart as big as yours with so much love to give despite everything you’ve been through.

Watching you complete high school, find your true friends, start learning to drive and land your very first job makes me the proudest big sister in the world. Taking your middle finger to the sky, proving to this world and those who ever doubted you that you can do anything.

Though you’re my “little” brother, I will always look up to you (literally). What I would give to see the world through your eyes and learn to understand it as you do.

I’m so proud of you and cannot wait to see what you accomplish and the journey life takes you on.

Love you always little bro xo