Our Miraculous Journey
By Lori Ciccarelli
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| Jeremy and Lori Ciccarelli |
Living with autism has been the biggest blessing in my life. I didn’t think that several years ago while experiencing many struggles and challenges, but God was at work helping me see the bigger picture. My son, Jeremy, was born with autism in 1989. You can imagine the challenges we faced as there was not much information on autism at that time. Little did we know that God would use us as pioneers in our small community to help figure this all out, not just for our family, but for other families to follow. We had no idea that we would be instrumental in paving the way for children with autism in our local public school district of 1,200 students. Nor would we have believed that our story would be heard around the world.
Intolerance of others has been the hardest part of our journey. Junior high years brought episodes of students taunting Jeremy that only got worse in high school. I would watch from a distance as Jeremy was treated like he was invisible. He would run up to a group of peers excited to share stories from the past summer recess only to have them turn their noses up and look in other directions. It wasn’t cool talking with someone who had differences.
Every morning we had our family devotional time where we read scripture and said a prayer. As I dropped Jeremy off at school I reminded him of the passage, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Every day I told Jeremy to hold his head high and to be proud of his gifts and talents that God blessed him with. Teenage years are difficult, but when you add the challenge of a disability to the formula it can really break the spirit down.
Jeremy was on medication for 10 years. As he got older, he could sense his differences. Teenage years brought depression and anger. Jeremy hated being autistic; he didn’t like the way his brain worked. He didn’t like that his social and emotional development was behind his peers, and he could see the gap getting bigger and bigger. He was smart enough to figure this out on his own.
Jeremy was challenged by the other students on a regular basis because they understood his low impulse control.
After one suspension from high school, I was driven to my knees to ask God for a miracle. “Is this as good as it gets, Lord? I can’t stand watching my child suffer any more and I don’t know what to do. He can’t seem to grasp the tools we have tried to teach him over the years. There has got to be something better. His medications seem to be working less and less. There’s got to be another option, Lord! Please help us! Speak through the doctor and lead him to Your answer.”
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Photo: One of Jeremy's chalk creations
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I then went to see Jeremy’s pediatrician to discuss alternative treatments. Jeremy’s pediatrician was a Godly man at our small community hospital, and even though Jeremy was no longer a small child, the doctor allowed him to remain his patient for as long as he wanted. I sat in Dr. J’s office trying to control my crying. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” I told him. “I don’t want Jeremy on medications any more. I don’t even know what he looks like anymore since he has been chemically dependent for the past 10 years.”
Dr. J shared with me that he had heard positive things about an alternative treatment called neurofeedback therapy, but said he really didn’t know much about it. He directed me to give the feedback doctor a call for more information. I figured a nontraditional method like this would mean driving to a metropolitan area at least 300 miles away. I was shocked to learn that this doctor was in the next community, only 45 minutes a way. I was ready to try anything as long as it was safe for Jeremy.
It’s hard to put into words the miracle that unfolded right before our eyes. Neurofeedback therapy is a treatment in which electrodes are administered to the brain in a very safe way to retrain the brain by making new pathways. The lobes in autistic people typically don’t communicate. Neurofeedback supposedly wakes up the brain so that it can communicate as it should. "Is this possible," I wondered?
We couldn’t believe the changes that took place over the next eight months as Jeremy’s brain responded quickly. All of Jeremy’s educational team, including his speech and language therapist, his behavioral therapist, and his teachers could not believe the changes. Jeremy started to initiate conversations with eye contact. His face looked different as if to be relaxed. He started to stand up straight with confidence and walked around town with a smile on his face. Suddenly tools started kicking in that he had been given over several years; how to deal with conflict, impulse control, perspective taking, and how to maintain on-topic conversations.
Individuals with autism don’t do well with abstracts. After neurofeedback, God became more concrete to Jeremy. We could all see evidence of divine intervention, including Jeremy. At the age of 17, Jeremy accepted Christ as his Savior and decided to be baptized. He could feel the difference of walking with Christ.
Jeremy decided to travel 300 miles away from home for four weeks to live with my mother in order to participate in the Escondido Adventist summer internship program. This was the first time he had ever left home, as people with autism don’t like to change their routines. Again, God was at work.
Telling Our Story
The Lord put it on my heart to share our story. I had no film experience, but decided to document our journey. I bought a camcorder and film editing software. Each time I sat at the computer to edit our journey, I prayed for the Lord’s guidance to show me how He wanted this all to look. I could feel His presence.
After three years of video taping and editing I released, “JJ’s Journey, A Journey about Autism.” The release was April 2008, in honor of National Autism Awareness Month. Later that year, I was convinced by a friend to enter my documentary into a film festival. If accepted, I figured our story could raise more autism awareness. From over 200 film submissions worldwide, only a quarter were accepted; mine was an official selection. This was undoubtedly God's doing.
I didn’t win awards, but Jeremy reminded me of the reasons we wanted to produce this film. “Mom, remember we did this to help others and to provide hope, not to win awards.” The exposure was amazing; the film was shown twice.
Jeremy is medication free now and has been for almost three years. He is functioning at the highest level he ever has. He just completed his first quarter successfully at a nearby community college. He took a full load of classes without modifications. The other day, Jeremy said to me “Mom, I’m glad I’m autistic.” I asked him why. He responded, “Because it makes me special.” This was truly a God moment.
Click here to learn more about the documentary JJ’s Journey, A Journey about Autism. To view a recent NBC interview with Lori and Jeremy; visit: Yahoo.
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