Living Next Door to a Special Needs Child

We will be buying a fence, and I'll explain why.  It takes a really special person to live next door to a special needs child.  The person who lives next to a special needs child can be an ally and an angel.  I am lucky enough to have a few of those angels living around me, and even further down the street. These angels look out for our kids as much as we do.  We keep a watchful eye on our kids, it stems from living in Chicago and always being within arms reach of them, and the fact that we're very acutely aware of their special needs. Alex doesn't have the ability to talk, and his hearing is intermittent so it's very important to keep him safe.

One beautiful, summer weekend several years ago, we were all out in our yard working and playing. Dan was cutting the lawn, and I was roaming around the yard keeping an eye on the kids.  Nicholas needed something in the house, so I took him inside to grab what he needed.  Dan was in eye sight of Alex so I was certain he was safe.  When I came back outside, Alex was no where in sight.  I gestured to Dan and he shrugged his shoulders.  I looked everywhere. His usual places and scanned the area by the 70 ft. deep lake by our house, he was no where to be found. I got really scared.  Alex had run over to my neighbors house, opened the back sliding door, walked through her house, up her stairs and climbed into bed like Goldilocks.  The photo below is blurry because he was moving, getting as cozy as possible to settle in for his nap.

My neighbor knew I'd be worried sick, and yelled out to me, "He's in here.'  He was happy, and cozy. What were we all worried about when he was tucked under a blankie ready for a cozy nap? I thanked them, and shuffled Alex back to our yard with a few new gray hairs, and a little bit of a toll taken on my heart.  This was un-chartered territory, and very scary.  We started looking up information about wandering, and how parents with Autistic children help keep them safe.  One additional time Dan went upstairs to put the laundry away, and Alex left our house. He went into another neighbor's garage, and walked in to their house. Dan just couldn't get down stairs and out of the house fast enough.  Our neighbor walked him back hand in hand, and delivered him safely to our door.  We've made modifications and put locks at the tops of our doors.  I know that this could happen with any child, it's just even more meaningful that this is a special needs child.  We do everything we can to ensure all of our children are safe.  We talk to our neighbors about our sons, and their disease.  99.9% of the time we've got them covered, it's just a rare occasion where we need help, our angels are there for us.

A few angels just sold their house, so we'll have new people moving in. Only time will tell if the new people will be angels, but to keep our little angel safe, we'll start with a fence as a little added protection.  Things have gotten much better as Alex is now older but we never forget that he needs extra help because he can't say, "I am Alex. I am lost."  We'll miss our angels next door. These are neighbors who we only lived next to for less than a handful of years, not 10s or 20s of years.  That makes them even extra special that they care so much about our family.  Alex will miss their cozy bed and that he never got to complete that nap.  Wherever their journey leads them, we'll make sure to visit. Thank you angels. We'll miss you angels!

Love, 

The Cherrstrom Family