"Ineligible."

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Tucker.

And his mommy and daddy loved him so very much. He was the first little boy they called their own, and he gave them their names, Mommy and Daddy.

But it took a long time for him to find those words, to say those names.

Children all around him learned to talk, but his words didn't come as easily. His mommy worried a lot about him, and she finally took him to a special team of people who knew just what to do. They told her she had done the right thing, that her son was very, very, very smart, but that he needed help.

And she did everything it took to get help for her little boy.

They learned a language all their own, filled with pictures, signs, and symbols. She helped the world to know his stories, and she taught him every sign he knew. Their hearts were woven together, as she knew his thoughts before anyone. He told her his favorite things, in a wordless place that only she could hold.

And her heart was sad as she waited to hear his voice.

"Speak, baby, speak... Love is begging, please. Don't worry, baby, Momma is waiting, anticipating, when silence sleeps."

And then, a few at a time, his words began to arrive.

One day, he said, "Mommy."

Another day, he said, "Daddy."

And then he counted to ten.

And his words began to grow, and he began to string them together like beads on a necklace. Sometimes two or three, sometimes a whole handful of precious pearls.

And his mommy listened. And she believed in how smart he was, while he began to show her.

And three years passed, filled with an ocean of months and a journey of weeks, with countless long days in between.

And he learned to talk.

And this week, his mommy signed papers to set him free. Because he can talk now. He can sing, and tell stories, and remember names, and imagine out loud.

And at the bottom of the page, she read the words, "Ineligible. No academic need." Because he had improved - he was "ineligible" for services. He had "no academic need" for help.

And she signed her name.

And they did it.

And a chapter ended, and they began to write a new one.

You did it, precious boy.