“It was just me and my son when I met Jojo. But he never...

“It was just me and my son when I met Jojo. But he never questioned that I had a child. He went with it. We got married in my grandparent’s living room. By that time we’d already given birth to our second son Isaiah. Now Jojo is very quiet, so when Isaiah wasn’t talking by the age of one, everyone said: ‘They’re the same!’ But at fifteen months Isaiah still wasn’t talking. And that’s when he was diagnosed with autism. It broke me, honestly. I didn’t know how far on the spectrum he was going to be. So I spiraled in my mind. I thought: ‘He’ll never talk, or go to college, or get married. He’ll never do any of the things I envisioned as a mother.’ But Jojo was very calm. He said: ‘This is not the end. It’s the beginning of something.’ He did all the research with me. We enrolled Isaiah in an early intervention program. We had three therapists coming to our place every week. I’d watch every session. Isaiah was like a turtle. He was moving so slowly, and I was trying to cheer him on. Sometimes he’d say a word. Or point at something. But there was never a big breakthrough. It was so hard. I’m home alone all day. He was having so many meltdowns. And I felt like a failure. Like it was something I did. I know it’s not true, but that’s how it felt. I kept praying for something to change. But nothing was happening. And then the pandemic happened. Our therapists stopped coming. We tried to do tele-sessions, but Isaiah wasn’t having it. He’d cry the entire time. I was also having to homeschool my older son, so it was too much. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Jojo wasn’t going to work, so he said: ‘Let me try.’ And for the past few weeks they’ve been doing the sessions together. They’re so cute. They’re like twins. Everything Jojo does, Isaiah mimics it. Sometimes Isaiah will cry for the entire two hours. But Jojo is calm. He pushes through. And you won’t believe what’s happened. Isaiah is pointing at things now. He knows his alphabet. He sings songs. It’s an answered prayer. And I’m just so proud of my husband. We’re struggling right now, but he’s been so calm. And because of him, miraculously, during this sad, sad time, our child is progressing. My baby is getting a voice.”