Do you know an intuitive child; one who is super sensitive and keenly aware? Sometimes referred to as, old souls, these children have maturity beyond their years and a spiritual morality at their core.  They also possess an uncanny ability to pick up on other people’s thoughts and emotions, and tell when something is wrong or someone is dishonest. Though they may lack facility with words to describe unusual occurrences, the ability to sense things outside the norm, is present and alive.

A friend of mine sent me a story about his daughter, who was three at the time. After watching singer songwriter Michael Jackson’s final film-concert, This Is It she said, “Look daddy, he is saying goodbye to us!” I asked my friend how much his daughter knew about Michael Jackson and whether he told her about Jackson’s death. He and his wife had not mentioned anything to her, because they felt she was too young to understand. All she knew was that Michael Jackson was one of her dad’s favorite singers.  My friend asked his daughter why she thought this, and she replied without reservation, “Look at him Papi.  Look at his face! See, he’s telling us goodbye.”

Children pick up on body language, facial expressions and tones of voice. They notice behavioral discrepancies for example, the differences between what someone is saying and how they look and sound. In short, they catch the incongruity. Children can see beyond appearances. They can hear beyond rhetoric.

I was an intuitive child. My earliest experiences with sixth sense awareness are clear examples of how children know more than we think. They occurred in response to the loss of my sister, who was placed in a residential home for severely disabled children when I was three, and the death of my mother when I was eight.

In this post I will share how my intuition persisted in helping me expose the truth about my sister, which enabled me to reunite with her after fifteen years. And in a follow up post, I will describe how relentless my inner intuitive voice is, as well as being the agent responsible for recovering a letter my mother wrote to me before she died.

In the 1950’s,  when I was growing up, it was common place for adults to shelter children by saying little and keeping troubles to them self. Thinking they were naïve, and oblivious, generations of parents overlooked the depth of feeling and empathy children have, not to mention the precociousness and inner wisdom of an intuitive child.

My mother became pregnant before the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine was available. My father contracted the Rubella virus and passed to my mother in her last trimester. My older sister, Lois was born with debilitating mental and physical handicaps. Seventy years ago, pediatricians encouraged young parents of severely disabled children such as my sister, to be placed in institutions established for specific care of this population.

My parents initially decided to place, Lois in a small residential school. I was three and she was four. After my mother died my father transferred her to a state institution and made her a ward of the state…

No one mentioned Lois ever again and no one considered how removing my older sister from our home would affect me. According to my aunt, who I spoke with as an adult, I used to climb out of my crib and crawl into Lois’s. My parents would find us together in the morning. Children especially siblings, interact and play regardless of differences and in spite of abnormalities.

I remember asking my father about my sister. I worried about her feeling lonely. I missed her and wanted to visit her. Her absence haunted me. He told me I couldn’t visit Lois until I was eighteen. “Children, he tentatively explained, carry germs that could infect Lois and the other residents. It might be better to stop thinking about her, and as act as if she’s died.”  My father’s words stunned and revolted me. I also noted something disturbingly unauthentic in his delivery.  I knew there were loopholes in his story but I was too young to challenge him. I shut down.  An intuitive child knows when to back off and back away, which I did until I left home for college.

I entered a Bachelor’s program in Special Education, to learn and to heal. I confirmed that my father had been untruthful about visitation at the state institutions and at eighteen I went to visit Lois.

I spoke with her doctors and social workers beforehand. They were kind and understanding. I felt very guilty about not visiting and explained how I was misinformed. The doctor in an attempt to prepare me warned that Lois might not recognize me. He said developmentally she was like a child between eighteen months and two years old.

They wheeled Lois to the visiting area. She was hunched over, rocking back and forth.   She had a rattle in one hand and a towel she chewed on in the other. My aunt and a friend from college, who came to support me, greeted her first. She stopped what she was doing, glanced at each one of them and then looked away. I walked over and bent down.  I leaned over to hug her. “Hi, Lolo. It’s Steffie” I said. “I’ve missed you!” I don’t know why I called her, Lolo. It just came out. My sister stopped rocking and cocked her head to get a better look at me. Did she recognize me or remember my voice? Without warning Lois grabbed and pulled me close. She hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe while continuously patting me on my back. I started crying. I sobbed into her shoulder. I was her baby sister, and she was comforting me. I looked up. She smiled down on me and started to giggle.  Sometimes our eyes probe. Sometimes they stare vacantly. And sometimes they say “I remember.” There is no doubt that Lois knew me in spite of what the doctors said.  An intuitive child knows more than we think.

“As life unfolds you can only represent your truth, and it will change over time as you evolve. The important thing is not to withhold your truth, whatever it may be. Every time you speak your truth, you are advancing your own evolution; you are showing your trust in truth to prevail. Speaking the truth opens up options.” ~ Deepak Chopra~

I welcome your comments. If you are interested in speaking further and having a session, please click on the, Contact Me page to email and schedule an appointment.