Stitt Family

by Sara Raynor

The Stitt Family has faced many challenges in the last couple of years. After surviving a house fire in 2019, which destroyed their home, they had to cope with living in a hotel and temporary housing. This is especially stressful for a family of six, with three special needs children. Debbie and Rodney Stitt (mom and dad), had made sure they had good home insurance because they were concerned about the children having access to all of their adaptive tools and familiar things. 

Jeremiah is the oldest (13), followed by Joshua (12), Josiah (11.5), and Bryson (5). Even though they had to adjust to alternative housing while their house was rebuilt, it was reassuring to know they would have a house to go back to. Living away from their familiar home was all difficult and confusing for the boys. They tried to make the best of it by going out a lot but adventures are especially hard for Josh who doesn’t like walks, or beaches, or riding in the car. Debbie said they all learned many new things through the experience. Each of the boys grew in different ways.

Jeremiah was delayed as a child but has caught up. He gets stressed out about all of the accommodations for his brothers, and doesn’t fully understand it all yet. He loves attention and sometimes will instigate his brothers. Because of the delays when he was younger, he still has an IEP for extra support at school. Debbie has to stay on top of his work because he chose to do virtual school, but still hesitates to ask for help when he needs it. He is getting better about asking teachers for help but sometimes still needs a shove. Jeremiah was Debbie’s rainbow baby (first born after infant loss). She says it’s a joy to watch him grow and mature as he enters his teen years.

Joshua was not fully diagnosed until he was 9 years old. He has ADHD and Autism. He always wanted to sit by himself. He is just now starting to warm up more. He is learning to show affection to the family, but he has to initiate. If you ask something of him he has a tendency to snap back. He has an awesome PSW, Carrie Bancroft, who he responds to when she asks him about his reactions. Debbie said she has learned a lot from Carrie about how to respond to her son. Debbie has an open mind and wants to learn all she can. She has worked with disabled adults but admits it is different working with your own children. Joshua loves to tell you about anything you ask about. He gets really good grades at Umpqua Valley Christian. Debbie is proud of him for working so hard.

Josiah likes being on the computer. He likes to look on Amazon and talk about the things he would like to get. He is temperamental but loving. It’s hard to give him directions. He has ADHD and Tourette’s (which some doctors have diagnosed as adjacent to ASD in his case). Josiah is very caring and empathetic. Sometimes he has a hard time but he is a tender child with a lot of compassion. Debbie says he shows wisdom in following the lead of his parents.

The Stitts adopted Bryson. They had him since he was seven weeks old and while he was going through drug withdrawals. He has not yet been fully diagnosed, but he has ADHD and some strong emotional outbursts. Debbie is still pursuing a full diagnosis. The Sitts had his two younger siblings as foster children and wanted to adopt them and keep them together, but due to an error on their part and some false accusations, CPS got involved and adopted the younger two to another family. Debbie is still heartbroken about the whole thing. She is especially sad that the adoptive family wants nothing to do with Bryson because she wishes he could see his siblings. He doesn’t really understand what happened and displays some anxiety from the experiences with CPS. Bryson is a very busy child but Debbie says he is a love. 

The Sitts were able to move into their rebuilt house in September of 2020. They spent the last year settling into their home again. It has been great but also strange. They were able to have some modifications done to the house so that it has a more open floor plan which makes it seem bigger even though it is the same size. About a month ago, most of them got the dreaded virus. They had been very cautious about exposure so the diagnosis came  as a surprise, but they are happy to report a full recovery. 

Before Covid they used to love to go to church together. They still enjoy going to the local parks and occasional hiking. At home they like to play cards with the kids, though the boys have varying lengths of attention with the activity.

Overall, Debbie says she has seen all of the boys grow after the fire experience. The last couple of years have given Debbie the perspective that as a parent her level of understanding and protectiveness has deepened for her children. The whole family has persevered through the parents displaying a growth mindset and being open to continual learning and growing together.