{"id":19439,"date":"2026-03-11T07:40:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/al-roker-on-how-parenting-a-child-with-special-needs-inspires-him\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:07:54","slug":"al-roker-on-how-parenting-a-child-with-special-needs-inspires-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/movies-and-tv\/al-roker-on-how-parenting-a-child-with-special-needs-inspires-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Roker on How Parenting a Child with Special Needs Inspires Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019d spent the weekend at our house upstate, my teenage son, Nick, and me. My wife, Deborah Roberts, is a senior correspondent for ABC News. Nick\u2019s sister Leila is at college, and his oldest sister, Courtney, is grown. Sometimes it\u2019s good for just the two of us guys to get away. That drive up and back is some of the best time we have one-on-one. You know, when you have your teenager in a car with you, it\u2019s a good chance to connect\u2014if Nick doesn\u2019t spend too much time distracted by his iPad or phone. Focus and conversation can be a problem for my son, more so than most kids, as he is a kid with special needs.<\/p>\n

\"Al
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As seen on the cover of the May 2019
\nissue of Guideposts<\/em> magazine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a Sunday and we had gotten up early\u2014not my usual 3:45 a.m. wakeup for the Today <\/em>show but still pretty early. We were driving back to Manhattan and hoped to make it in time for the morning worship service because back home, at St. James Episcopal Church, Nick is a crucial part of the worship team and he takes his responsibilities very seriously.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not something Deborah or I would have expected. To see Nick process down the center aisle at the beginning of the service, carrying the cross, his eyes on the altar, our pastor and the other ministers following behind, the organist pulling out all the stops, the choir and congregation singing their hearts out, the other acolytes following his lead as the principal cross bearer. Nick is focused, dignified, reverent, the brass cross shimmering in the candlelight. \u201cYou must be proud of your son,\u201d someone will say.<\/p>\n

Yes, I am. More than they\u2019ll ever know. The obstacles in this kid\u2019s way were things that might have tripped up many others. Not Nick, not even with the disabilities he was born with.<\/p>\n

That morning, driving into town, I looked at the dashboard clock and considered the traffic\u2014where was everybody going so early in the morning? But I was determined we would make it. I know it\u2019s important to him. Recently, explaining to Deborah why being at church was a priority for him, Nick told her, matter-of-factly, \u201cMom, I\u2019m a churchgoing guy.\u201d Not your average teenager at all.<\/p>\n

I went to church when I was growing up in Queens, but in those days, everybody did. It was expected. Mom and Dad took us to worship every weekend, but in so many other ways my dad was not your typical 1950s dad. For one, he was really in touch with his emotions. He cried easily, laughed hard and hugged and kissed us kids a lot. I remember going off to college, to SUNY Oswego, in upstate New York, getting my first taste of freedom. That day I left, Mom put on a brave face. Dad was a puddle of tears.<\/p>\n

Read More: Lauren Daigle: God Showed Me My Future<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The comfort he had with his emotions was a good model for me when I entered parenthood. Children can test your patience. Even an even-tempered guy like me can raise his voice. But I always knew I was loved. Dad\u2019s hugs and kisses said as much. I try to do the same. I don\u2019t always succeed, but with Deborah\u2019s help and cajoling, I try.<\/p>\n

When Deborah and I got married, we knew we wanted children. My older girl, Courtney, was adopted during my previous marriage, but we wanted to add to our family. When we first found out we were pregnant, we were over the moon. The miscarriage that followed broke our hearts. We ended up doing in vitro fertilization, and after a few attempts, we welcomed Leila into this world. I told that story in Guideposts<\/em> in 2003<\/a>. \u201cScience may have helped us on our path to pregnancy,\u201d I wrote back then, \u201cbut it couldn\u2019t get us all the way to the end. The only thing that could do that was the power and grace of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leila was a walking miracle. We wanted to tell the world. We were just as thrilled when her brother, Nick, was born, four years later. He too was an answer to prayer\u2014like all children\u2014but we knew right from the beginning that he would be up against a whole different set of challenges. He wasn\u2019t developing as fast as he should have, not holding our fingers as tightly, not always meeting our gaze, not as quick to crawl. At three, he hardly talked and could barely walk.<\/p>\n

Doctors and specialists put him through a slew of tests. Was it cerebral palsy? Autism? Maybe it was a processing disorder. Now that he\u2019s 17, I can tell you that, yes, he\u2019s somewhere on the spectrum and maybe obsessive-compulsive. But those labels can be frustrating; they don\u2019t begin to describe who Nick really is.<\/p>\n

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