Love on legs: His sweet nature outlasts bitter beginnings

When Liam started kindergarten last fall, he met a classmate with autism. He knew his mother helped nonverbal children learn to speak, so he asked her for advice: “Mommy, Lauren couldn’t use her words today. How can I help her?”

The question was typical Liam, Ashley says. “He is love on legs.”

“He’s never met a child he does not know, he does not love,” she says.

“When he sees someone having a hard time, he wants to help. He is all smile, and he is all happy energy.”

Resilient, too.

Liam came from a home that wasn’t safe. He didn’t learn to walk and talk until he was almost 2½ years old. He had sensory processing issues, and he didn’t sleep for more than two hours at a time.

By the time he reached Ashley and Isaac, he’d lived in six homes. Kindness was second nature to him – but it was also a survival technique.

“I was his seventh mommy before his fourth birthday,” Ashley says. “And while many children will withdraw or lash out, his goal in life was to be a sweet child. The world was stacked up against him, and he took it all in stride.”

We have family photos at mhfc.org/liam