Every night before school, my daughter will prepare my son’s lunch. She will call me during the day to remind me to buy juices, or grapes, or whatever it is that we are running low on his lunch. She always makes sure her brother is taken care of.

The past few months, when my son wakes up in the middle of night, he will go sleep with her. When he showers and he is crying, he will run to her room and hide under the covers. Even if she is not there, he feels comfort in her bed. Last night the thunder was rough. I went to check on him a few times, but he ran to her bed in the middle of the night. She says that during the night he would reach out to touch her hand. He needed assurance that she was there next to him. Then he’d go back to sleep.

There are so many times that she gets home from work and he will run to her and ask her for a ride. I will tell him that I can take him. Sister just got home from work and may want to rest for a bit. But she doesn’t want to hear it. She tells him to give her a few minutes so that she can change out of her work uniform He patiently waits for her on the sofa while she changes. And then she takes him out.

Last time I went outside and noticed they were both in the car, parked, with the music on. I asked her if everything was okay. She said yes that the monkey was hearing his favorite song. They were waiting for it to end before she turned off the vehicle and they came inside.

She is very protective of him. When we ask her if she would invite coworkers over to the house for a swim, she always says no. She wants her brother to be comfortable. “This is his home. I will not bring others over that may make him feel bad for being himself.” She is his fearless protector.

When the teacher sends me updates on how he is doing, I will screenshot them and forward them thru our family group messenger. The first day of school the teacher sent me a note. It said that the monkey is the model student now. He followed the routine, and didn’t become upset in changes to his schedule. His iPad died and he took it to the charging station without a fuss. Many of the kids have been out of school for more than a year. But since the monkey came back around January and also attended summer school, he is not struggling to adjust to the classroom demands like the rest of the kids.

My daughter’s response to this message was: He’s the role model. Aweeee! My heart! ❤️

The monkey has been doing great lately. We have not had many outbursts. He is learning to self soothe and manage his emotions. But when he struggles, or I am struggling, she will take over. She will take him on a drive to give me some space. Or she will hang out with him in his room when he’s crying to assure him, he will be okay.

I cannot express the feeling I have when I see them together. When I see him run to her for comfort. When I see her protect him and love him.

The siblings of special needs children are the definition of true love. ❤️