On the Wings of Love

Hmmmm. Here is a story about autism.

Since the students I've been working with are so low-functioning, it is rare for them to interact with each other in any capacity. For the most part they wander around the classroom in their own respective autistic worlds. Occasionally one kid will bump into another kid while flapping, hopping, crawling, marching or otherwise wandering around the room, but there is virtually no mindful communication between classmates (sad but very interesting). That being said, I was intrigued when S, our resident sharp-clawed urinator, sat down next to Lexi on a beanbag chair while watching our weekly Friday movie. I was especially interested because neither girl is exactly a peach - both are known for their unpredictability. Sharing inquisitive glances, we teachers sat and watched the situation unfold. It went a little something like this.

Because S likes to feel everything with her bare feet, she kicks off her shoes and starts rubbing her little monkey toes all over Lexi's head. Lexi absently swats at S but remains gormless and engrossed in a combination of autism and Sesame Street. S continues walking on Lexi's face. Finally, Lexi grabs the bottom of S's sweatpants and proceeds to stretch them out. Thinking aloud while observing this unfold, one of the teachers remarks that Lexi is trying to "pants" S. This proves inaccurate as Lexi begins tying the stretched-out ends of S's pants together. This is hilarious. Lexi attempts three times and gives up, becoming once again sucked into the repetitive, colorful world of the Street. S gets up and wanders away to look for food in the trash. I jump up to stop her but realize it's unnecessary, as her pant bottoms are now so long that she trips and falls flat on her face. Trying to control my laughter I corral S, determine that she is eating a Cheerio she found on the carpet, roll up her pant legs and send her on her merry, oblivious way.

Aside from being very funny, this vignette lends itself to some pondering.

I have never seen a child in this classroom do something this creative. None of the kids in this class can tie - not their shoes, not anything. Left to their own devices they won't do ANYTHING. They will not color. They will not play. If we came into the classroom each day and didn't actively engage these children, they would walk in circles flipping and staring into space all day long. They do not communicate and they do not interact with any aspect of their environment, as per the definition of "deep space" autistic spectrum disorders. This is not an exaggeration. To me, who likes and is used to a bustling, active classroom, it was very unsettling to come into a classroom that was silent in every sense of the word. It has been a very, very different experience.

Beyond that, however, was the fact that Lexi appeared to have somehow made a social connection with S. Was she being malicious? Was she actually thinking that tying S's pant legs together would make her trip? Was this her revenge for when S ripped Lexi's sucker right out of her mouth and crunched it away in four hard chomps? Was there an actual connection between the intentions of these two little people?

Not likely, but I would like to hope.

And at any rate it had us rolling.

BUH BYE