"The only difference". (children's page).

As a child, Laura loved to open and close the bathroom door. She would stand in the hallway, fully clothed in her torn stocking pajamas, engaging herself in this fun-filled activity. Although she was barely tall enough to reach the doorknob, she continued to push and pull the door. While I sat in a chair across the room, I could see the gigantic smile on her face as her feet scraped and swished against the tile floor. Because she was diagnosed at an early age with pervasive developmental delay, Laura did many things that no one ever understood. Despite all of her limitations and differences, Laura has always been a truly unique and interesting person.

While a person may realize her disability in conversation, Laura's physical appearance does not reveal her differences. She has dark blond hair and deep, sky blue eyes. While many people cut off their hair when it becomes too long, she prefers to keep it long and flowing. She loves the hair to flap in her face. As a child, Laura was skin and bones, a small skeleton with crooked teeth. She would only eat salad. While I devoured everything from strawberries to hotdogs, my sister would eat only lettuce, tomatoes, and French dressing! Today, Laura has a strong passion for all kinds of food.

Laura becomes obsessed with things very easily. If she loves something, then she absolutely loves it! When she was 6, she fell in love with The Wizard of Oz even though she already collected every figurine known to man, she still needed the movie and the soundtrack. She talked about The Wizard of Oz quite often. The following year, Laura grew out of this interest and began her passion for Oliver! the movie musical. "Here we go again!" I thought. She raved continuously about Oliver, Dodger, Bill Sykes, and other characters in the film. The lyrics from the musical blared through the house every hour. Still, there were other muses to be had. At the age of 15, her infatuation with the Backstreet Boys started. Covering her doors were posters of these dreamy singing sensations. She had to own any and every magazine which contained the smallest picture of the boys. Today, Laura still remains a true "fanatic" of these boys.

Laura is also a very sweet and caring person. For example, when she was 5 years old, she fell and hit her head on my grandmothers porcelain coffee table. As my brother Willie and I returned from the store, we saw her sitting on the patio with her mouth bleeding. She was immediately rushed to the hospital where her jaw was sewed back to its former shape with countless stitches. When the nurse gave Laura the hospital bracelet, she immediately said (with her mouth full of stitches), "One for Christa and Willie too!" This story reminds me how she constantly thinks of other people.

The other day I watched Laura return to her residential school. I remembered the girl who ate only salad, who loved to open and close the bathroom door, and who thought about me even in times of pain. As I watched her enter her house, I realized that Laura has never really changed from the small girl she once was. Today, whenever she opens or closes a bathroom door, I laugh and remember the gap-toothed toddler whose smile would fill the entire room. The musical group The Wallflowers once sang, "The only difference, that I see, is you are exactly the same as you used to be." No matter how much she grows, she will always be the same Laura.

Submit your Children's Page to: EP, ATTN: CHILDREN'S PAGE, 65 East Route 4, River Edge, NJ 07661. Be sure to include your name, address, daytime telephone number, and e-mail address! Now on the Web! We will now be including Familiar Faces and Children's Page on our Web site, http://www.eparent.com. Please send us your photographs with the understanding that doing so gives EP permission to put the photos on the EP Web site, exactly as they appear in the magazine and with the same text.