Family’s nonverbal son inspires children’s book series
‘He’s gonna speak with a purpose’:
Don Harrold, Executive Editor
editor@enterprisepub.com
Nature Decker, whose husband, Jermaine Decker, grew up in Logan, wrote a children’s book about their 3-year-old son, Cash, who is nonverbal and communicates through American Sign Language.
“He’s autistic, has a rare genetic disorder, and has epilepsy … A lot of people look at him differently, like when we go out and things like that. And he started school, so I decided to write a book about it,” Nature Decker said.
The series, “A Cash Story,” began with “Being Different Doesn’t Mean Less,” in which Cash teaches other children the sign for “friend.”
Doctors won’t say if Cash will ever speak, “His genetic disorder is such a black hole. They have limited information on it, so they said that he’s pretty much like a test subject for this whole thing ’cause they don’t know if he’ll speak, if he’ll read, if he’ll do this. But we don’t go by what doctors say. We just teach him sign language,” she said.
Only some people with the disorder are autistic, she said. “There’s like 20% of the 80-something people that they found this genetic disorder with have autism. So he’s autistic level 3, so he needs the most support … He understands what we’re saying, which is funny, because you can tell him no and he’ll know that … He just can’t say anything back to us,” Nature Decker said.
Cash was delayed from a young age. He was slow to sit up and roll over, and he didn’t walk until he was nearly 2. “And then when he wasn’t speaking, we were just kinda like, ‘Okay, what’s happening?’ Like, ‘Why aren’t you communicating with us? And why don’t we have words?’” she said.
“I started teaching myself sign. Then these guys started following along with it, like even the older kids, and that’s how he started learning the words. So he has about, I would say, 30 sign language words that he knows, and he understands all of them,” Nature Decker said.
The genetic disorder was found after Cash had his first seizure and was rushed to the hospital. “So then while they were investigating the seizures, they did genetic testing. And then when they did the genetic testing, that’s when they found it,” she said. He still has seizures.
Cash doesn’t like people coming close to him, and his reactions draw stares in public. “If somebody walks near him, he’ll try to swing at them like this, like to get them away. And they’ll look at me like, ‘Why is he doing that?’ Like, ‘Why aren’t you punishing him?’” Nature Decker said.
“But a lot of times, we just get dirty looks like, ‘Oh my God, you don’t have your child under control,’ kind of situation, you know?” she said. Once, when Cash took off his shoes in downtown Omaha and people stared, the whole family took off their shoes and walked with him.
The Deckers, an interracial couple, said they also draw looks for that. Jermaine Decker said someone once called police on him at a park when he was with his son. “Because he’s too light to be mine, but he is,” he said.
Jermaine Decker, who was adopted and grew up in Logan, is running as an independent for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District. “I haven’t taken a dollar from anybody,” he said.
Nature Decker said the book is meant for everyone. “Because it’s talking about inclusion, talking about bringing somebody that you want to communicate with that can’t communicate the way you want to communicate,” she said. The back of the book includes discussion questions for teachers, such as how Cash feels about his day.
“You know, they come up to Cash and they wanna communicate to him, but Cash doesn’t communicate … he’s just kinda looking at them like, ‘I don’t know what you want.’ And then they’ll take off. So by bringing that book to a light for everyone, hopefully it could show like, hey, we could be nicer, we can be kinder, we can help include these kids,” Nature Decker said.
As for why she wrote it, she said she did it for Cash. “I want him to understand, you know, it’s okay. Like, everything’s okay. Like, I don’t care that you’re different. I love you,” Nature Decker said.
“I felt like, you know, a lot of parents, especially, like, with autism, they don’t have that resource that shows their kid, that shows them in a book the way that they are … I don’t see books with American Sign Language showing how to do American Sign Language,” she said.
The Deckers have declined augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, devices, which are tablets that speak for the user at the push of a button, though she said Cash’s school has pushed for one. “I do not want my child to communicate with me with a computer. Like, that’s what he’ll rely on. It’s not helping him. It’s pushing buttons,” Nature Decker said.
“And then a sign language is such a way that they can help develop and learn, and I don’t know why they keep shoving all these other technical devices instead,” she said.
Jermaine Decker said critics have it backward. “A lot of people is like, ‘How dare you not give him a way?’ … Maybe it’s more so, how dare you not take the time to know him,” he said.
Asked whether they would have had Cash had they known about the disorder beforehand, both said yes. “I would’ve had him either way,” Nature Decker said.
Cash’s favorite sign right now is “eat.” “It’s nice to have some way to communicate with him. And not only does he, like, understand what we’re saying, but it’s nice so he can show us what he wants,” she said.
The second book in the series, “Halloween Is for Everyone,” was released Oct. 7 and follows Cash trick-or-treating with his family. Both books are available through Barnes & Noble.
“He loves dressing up … he’ll feel normal because everybody’s dressed up. No one’s gonna look at him differently,” Nature Decker said. Her husband offered a different word: “Not even actually normal as in just accepted.”
She said the books are a learning tool. They show the signs and include information on autism, genetic disorders and epilepsy. “We need to be more understanding. We need to figure out ways to include people. I know that’s hard because kids are mean,” Nature Decker said.
“I just wish that, you know … that story can hit a lot of people and make them realize, ‘Well, maybe we should do things a little differently,’” she said.
Looking to Cash’s future, Jermaine Decker said he wants his children to know anything is possible. “I think he’s gonna know the value of his words ’cause one day I do believe he’ll speak, but he’s gonna speak with purpose. I think that’ll be a tool most people won’t have,” he said.
