The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Liam Long
Faith Smith, Teacher
South Boston Catholic Academy, South Boston, MA
Courage to me is helping out a family member who is not capable of helping
themselves and stepping out of your comfort zone to help people out. When
I was eight years old my mom had another baby and named him Killian.
When Killian was a year old he was not talking or getting words out correctly.
Eventually, Killian was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism can
affect someone’s speech, not allowing them to process words correctly, and
their words come out like noises. When I found out that Killian had Autism
I knew that I had to be courageous for him, so he could be courageous too.
I would show him an object like a ball and repeat the word “ball” to him a
bunch of times. I also learned sign language, so I could communicate with
Killian without talking.
It not only took courage to learn new things, but it also took Killian a lot of
courage too. Killian is now three years old, and he is in school. At first I was
scared for him because he has never been around a lot of people except for
his family, but after the first day of school his teacher said he loved it. When
Killian gets home from school I show him letters and say them. I also show
him animals, and then he makes their noises. Killian shows courage because
he steps out of his comfort zone to try to pronounce words correctly even
when it is tough for him.
“Having courage and
overcoming fear
was hard, but in the
end it paid off.”
Having courage and overcoming fear was hard, but in the end it paid off. Even
though my family and I went through some tough times, we got through it and
overcame that fear together. I am glad I did everything I could to help. The
experience of showing courage will always be with me and my family.
When Killian and I get together and are just playing around, he has so much
fun because he does not play with other people a lot. He only plays with
family because he is used to us. It takes a lot of courage because I am his only
brother, and that means that I am a big part of his life. I had to take extra care
of him when my mom got sick because she was not able to do a lot of things.
It was cancer.
When my mom got cancer I was scared, and I knew it would be a challenge.
I knew that if I did not show courage, I could not help Killian learn. I took
that fear and said, I’m not scared anymore. I knew that my mom wanted
me to help out with Killian. I did it for my mom because she was sick and it
would make her happier. If I did not help Killian he would have been running
around the house, and my mom couldn’t do anything about it. When I was in
school I was worried about him. Even though my mom was sick, I helped take
care of Killian.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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