I teach at a school for kids on the autism spectrum. Most of my kids have Aspergers Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder. We have a class of eight and they are all boys. We have so much fun together. Today we listened to Christmas music and made a wonderful mess of icing, candy and graham crackers.
With no kids of my own yet, I especially treasure my time with the boys. They are such sweet and precious young men. Yet, many of them are destined to a life of misunderstanding. People with this disability have difficulties with social skills and perspective taking. Imagine a life where you cannot take someone else's perspective! What frustration. I pray that as they grow, those who cross their paths will learn to be patient and understanding with their rigidity and inflexibility and get to know them enough to realize their many strengths.
For now, we play, we talk, we craft, we learn... we slowly and steadily prepare for the years to come.
