Bryanspeak

Bryan with a member of his "Team". If there is one thing Bryan has no time for, it is dealing with others who talk down to him with a patronizing attitude. From a very young age, Bryan has seemed to have a sixth sense about who genuinely knows and likes him for who he is…

Bryan and his grandma have spent forty years together celebrating their shared birthday. Tomorrow is a big day. My mom will be turning 100. Bryan will be 40. Remembering back forty years ago, I recall secretly hoping that my first child would arrive on my mother's birthday. It would be her first grandchild. Mom had…

Bryan after nailing his latest job interview. Bryan has had speech therapy for most of his life. Even as a newborn in his Early Intervention program, receptive and expressive language skills were measured and goals set. It always seemed that when gross motor growth occurred, language development took a back seat. And then the reverse…

Special Olympics athlete oath: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." (Spoken by all athletes prior to competition".) This fall, Bryan was the PA Special Olympics "poster child" on PASO's fundraising Facebook page. (See picture above.) For thirty-two years Bryan has participated in Special Olympics, beginning at age…

Bryan and his current roommate voting together. Bryan has been living in an apartment since 2011. It will be ten years this August. When Bryan was about to graduate at age 21, he was asked by his teachers to speak of his goals in life. He replied, "I want to move out and up when…

Bryan's first pet was a Golden Retriever pup named Amber. She was the runt of the litter but was our pick from the start. Amber was also my first dog. The parakeets we owned when I was a child were no comparison with this sweet girl. Her littermate sister was famous in her day -…

Yesterday was an exciting day for Bryan. We traveled to bucolic Lancaster County to finally meet Rev. Tim Craven, Bryan's mentor and friend, whom he had only met through Zoom sessions. These remote meetings were made possible through an introduction made by Bryan's counselor, Dr. John. Rev. Tim is a longtime friend of Dr. John's.…

Bryan has come a long way from the Easter basket-toting, egg-hunting, candy-consuming little guy you see pictured above. Oh, he still likes his baskets and his chocolate bunnies! However, he now embraces the true meaning of Easter as witnessed in today's Zoom meeting, orchestrated by Bryan. Apparently, he has been working on an idea for…

One of the most important and ongoing life lessons Bryan has taught me is patience. Not that I've mastered it by any means. I practice it, but fall far short of achieving the patience I seek. My first lesson in this all-important virtue - this "fruit of the Spirit" - came right after Bryan was…

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Bryan has always embraced his Celtic roots. He has cherished our two trips to Ireland, Scotland and England. Even before these trips and confirmation of our U.K. roots via Ancestry research and DNA testing, Bryan has always gravitated towards all things British Isles. As a child, he would dress up as…