This is William Bryce Staverman, and he goes by his middle name, which is Bryce.
He was born 14 years ago with most of his cerebellum missing and his cerebellum controls his gross and fine motor skills.
He cannot walk or talk but he can understand everything that you say to him, you point to him. He sees. He understands everything.
My name is Kris Staverman and I'm his mother.
No one ever asks for a child with special needs, but maybe they should, because what they give you is...
they look at the world with happiness and joy, and they introduce you to people that you'd never know and you would meet again..
and they give unconditional love.
He loves trains.
He loves elevator rides.
He loves watching roller coasters on Youtube videos.
He loves popsicles.
He loves to sit in the front yard and watch sprinklers in the summer time.
He loves to swim.
He thinks fire alarms are funny.
He knows how to spell. He knows how to read.
You wouldn't know it though.
But, he's just....his teachers say he is smart. It's just getting it out of him.
He was given his Ipad last year by a friend of ours who saw the 60 minute story on children with Autism and communicating...
and he said, "We never get ourselves anything for Christmas. We're sending Bryce an Ipad."
Oh he's very smart and people don't give him credit because when they look at him, this is what they see....
..they don't realize like you really have to hang out with him to get to know him and realize....he's a genius!
If you take him somewhere one time, he will follow the highways and expressways on his map and he'll take you exactly
to where you were.
He can find like...[Bryce calls for something] Can you find the conservatory?
He'll find the conservatory.
He'll find the zoo. Like, he can find Grandma's house. Anything's he's ever gone on, he can find it on there...
and just by watching him pay attention. Funny games like that, he loves to play.
Ya' know sometimes you just got to look at the world through the eyes of a child and just be happy.
And that's what he is.
Having a child with special needs helps you appreciate everything in life.
Where he can go and what he can do, nobody knows.
We can only just hope for the best and that he'll be happy.