1. Monday night, Sweet M to Mothersvox:"Can I be a baby again?"
"No honey, you can't go back and be a baby again."
"Can I be born again?"
"Hmmah. I don't really know, Sweetie. Some people think everyone will be born again and again. So maybe."
"Oh."
2. Tuesday evening.
Mothersvox to Sweet M:
"Last night you said you want to be a baby again."
"Oh yeah. That would be great."
"What did you like about being a baby?"
"I didn't have to walk! I got to sit in my stroller."
"Should we get you a wheelchair or a wheel barrow and push you around?"
"Oh yeah!" Pause. "But how would I get on the bus?"
"We could get a kneeling bus that scoops you up."
"No, that's okay. I'll walk."
3. Tuesday afternoon.
"Hey, that's my painting!"
"Yes, it is."
"Are you going to put that on the Internet?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then I will."
• • •
She's going to keep walking, it seems. And hopefully keep painting.
3 comments:
And continue to paint brillianly, brightly, in the finest colors----We've never had Charlie formally tested for his IQ and I'm fine without it, and fine with whatever number comes up (or does not). Your previous post struck me as having the subtitle of The Uses of Einstein-ment.
That's a great title! Wish I'd thought of it!
Can I just say how much I'm missing Autismland? I am so missing your daily chronicle. While I love reading about Charlie on Autism Vox, it's just not the same as hearing about your day, day-in, day-out.
Can't wait for the book . . .
I have read that Cho was in deed diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at eight years of age… but no intervention took place. It wasn’t autism that killed people in Virginia Tech but an individual that had exhibited symptoms of a learning disability at a young age and the people that came in contact with all the years in school did nothing to intervene. Why ..because he was smart, a loner and Korean….. and probably because his own family didn’t accept the diagnosis (this isn’t so unusual is it?)
I think it is wrong to deny that Cho exhibited autism traits... It is not autism that killed people but this individual Cho who never received help or interventions for years..........
This is so important for parents to remember and a lesson for all people who try to deny children services/support or say they are too smart to receive services at all... even though they have a diagnosis. All the years that Cho was in school, all the teachers that had in class didn't see that he had a disability and did nothing speaks volumes to me. It is not so unusual to hear about kids that are smart, shy, lacking social skills that continue to get pushed through the system for a myriad of reasons......schools don't want to provide services, parents don't want to accept the diagnosis, parents don't know their rights under law for interventions, and some parents have issues that compound getting help for their own child...
If we don't accept that Cho was diagnosed with autism and learn from this, we are compounding the problem of getting help for thousands of children now and in the future. While I admit that children on the autism spectrum are not usually violent, keep in mind this young man was someone who never had intervention and who knows what it was like for him to deal with day to day issues..which I am certain most people didn't even know as he didn't share his feels.. How many kids on the autism spectrum have challenges with sharing their feelings?
Remember this individual Cho does not represent Autism - he was diagnosed with it and no one did anything to intervene.
Can you imagine being diagnosed with cancer when you are eight-years old and then no one does anything for years, even though they suspect something is wrong? Then you "suddenly" do things from rage...because you are dying inside and no one did a thing to help.
I am not trying to justify what Cho did as right, what I am saying is that this individual needed help, was diagnosed with autism and lived without any treatment/therapy for years… not able to have friends, social issues, etc. along with other emotional problems that compounded his mental state.
Where are all the experts that saw the signs and symptoms which Cho exhibited for years… and did nothing but push him through the system?
By denying the diagnosis now, people will further contribute to other’s not getting the help they so desperately need…
Monica Moshenko, Parent, Advocate
Host – DisAbility News & Views Radio
www.disabilitynewsradio.com
Article “Cho Was Autistic: Family”
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/cho-was-autistic-family/2007/04/21/1176697133222.html
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