Smart Kids On The Move

A Poem by A Father
SMARTER Brunei President’s Poem during
the 3rd National Conference on Autism

When I held him 6 years ago,
Little did I know,
How much our lives would change and grow
As he did so

Our lives were full of nagging worries
Full of little catastrophes
But then somehow,
Instead of caving,
We pulled together,
Strived to save him,
Little did we know that he,
Did all the saving – for him and me

Though he can’t speak,
He makes meanings clearer,
For patience, indeed he is the best teacher,
He taught us what it meant to be
A truly happy family

Working together,
Supporting each other,
Bit by bit,
Things got better,

Sure there are ups and there are downs,
There are days when we just frown,
But we dug real deep and then we found,
That communication without words is all around,

It’s in his laugh, his walk, his face,
He taught it all with autistic grace,
To help each other, we learnt to see,
The way things were in his little feet.

He showed us what it meant to cry
But …
He also showed us the true meaning of a smile,
His smile can light up any room
More radiant than the shiny moon.

Life is better,
We are stronger,
Hand in hand we work together,

Farid you have made us see,
The joy in every little deed,
We cherish every moment spent,
Even with all the little dents.

So now let us play, let us cuddle with joy,
For now life is complete with our darling little boy.