A Story by Malinda Smith

By the time my son, Jonathan was six years old he was quite verbal and was able to communicate pretty well.  However, due to a severe hearing impairment and a pervasive developmental delay, his vocabulary was limited for his age and his expressive language was even more limited.

In January of that year, following two big ice storms, our Christmas tree was standing out on the patio in the ice and cold. The sun was brilliant at last and we had electricity for the first time in days. Jonathan kept calling "mom, mom, mom." I was busy doing chores that had gone by the wayside while we were without power.

Finally, I answered "What" in an irritable tone.

"Come and look" he said. I went to the back door and looked out. Our discarded Christmas tree with its icicles was reflecting the sun brilliantly. "Look how pretty", he said. "Its sparkling like diamonds."

I was blown away, both by the exquisite beauty of the son on the tree, as well as by my son's amazing use of language to express it. I was quite humbled because my son was not only able to see but express the beauty of God's amazing world while I was merely annoyed with him for interrupting me.

I could have missed his beautiful discovery and I thank God I didn't.

 

By Judy - His Kindergarten Teacher

I probably have a hundred stories about Nicholas, since I was his teacher for a brief period in his life, but one sticks out above all others.

Knowing that he had been "kicked out" of so many classrooms already at an early age and the fact that his behavior was so volatile, I would understand if his knowledge base was limited. My classroom had children in Kindergarten and First grade, but cognitively the functioning level was so diverse. I had asked the group who could count to 100 and one little Kindergartener (shoes off, thumb in mouth) stated "by ones or tens". This same child answered me "English or Spanish". Also it was an election year. We had spent the traditional time spent on what I refer to as the "old dead white men" (Washington, Lincoln, etc..). When I asked who the President of the United States was, Nicholas once again had the right answer.Typically young children will spout out Washington's name; but not Nicholas. A couple of adults were also sitting ar ound the table and asked "Do you know who the Vice President is". Once again, Nicholas knew that Dick Cheney was the answer. Though he might not be able to sit still long and may not have appeared to be listening to today's lesson, he was able to answer the questions asked of him.

Asperger children do not fit the classic mold. They do not sit in desks quietly, read as directed and write down their answers in a timely manner. Since their learining is "non-traditional" the teaching they receive must be "non-traditional". Definitely will keep you on your toes. They can remember everything you say, but understand it in the most concrete ways. If you say I will love you to death, they will look for the body.

Nicholas grew that year, and so did his teacher. Godspeed my friend.