by Charles Newbery
Posted in: Autism
Man or machine?
MY SON LIVES in a literal world. And it can be endearing, literally.
The other day, my wife said to the six year old that she had a bone to pick with him. His face darkened as he thought nervously that such a prospect could hurt. A lot.
Later his intrigue in his body deepened, quite literally again, when we went to the doctor’s and he examined my son’s nose. The doctor explained that what most of the world calls a nose is actually only a breathing apparatus and that the nose is really the inner workings in the head and neck. The doctor explained, for the benefit of us parents, that a part of the nose’s inner workings is like a radiator that spins and whirls to heat the air we breath in and out. Like a radiator. That caught my son’s attention. His eyes widened and his face brightened as he pondered the idea of what’s inside. We found out about his new understanding of his body at dinner when we all shared our best and worst things of the day. [click to continue reading…]
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by Charles Newbery
Posted in: Autism
A sunny day. That means no rain, at least not right now.
MY SON LIKES maps. He draws one most days before we go out, even to school. He knows the route to school by heart, and he likes to go the same way each time. And he complains about a variation. “No, this way!” he’ll yell, pointing in the direction of the usual route, and then looking down at his map, a bunch of lines that make little sense to me but all the sense in the world to him.
The five – nearly six – year old knows where things are. He’s got a good memory, and is observant. Very observant. We once picked him up from swimming class and promised to buy him sweeties at the shop, but we had to change course and not go to the normal haunt. He yelled, “Hey!” We calmed him by saying we’d swing by the kiosk on the way home, the one near our house. “It’s only a two or three blocks from here,” I said. He looked at me and pondered for a moment before saying, “Eight. It’s eight blocks from here.” Sure enough, it was eight blocks (including one we never really noticed before), and he said, “See!” in a way as if to say, “Geez Louise! Who are the adults here?” [click to continue reading…]
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by Charles Newbery
Posted in: Autism
"We're going on an adventure to an island."
WE WENT ON a trip to an island a few days ago, and the weather was better than fine. It was a river island, and we went with friends. Many families, many children. The boat took us up wide rivers and down narrow ones and past homes on stilts in Tigre, a delta region outside Buenos Aires.
I went with my wife and three children, who hollered at me to drive faster as we sped to get to the departure dock. They didn’t want to miss the boat and the island – and the adventure.
They had no idea what to expect. They only knew that friends would be there and that the trip would be new. They didn’t know what to ask as we waited for the boat to arrive. They played with friends. My eldest girl, who is eight, paired off with a friend, and my son, who is nearly six, ran with the boys as more people arrived before the departure. The youngest girl, nearly three, played with another youngest girl, and together they charmed an older girl, who smiled and laughed and said, “They’re so cute.” [click to continue reading…]
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