When I was a junior in high school, my guidance counselor called me into her office. A mother of a young boy came into the guidance office in tears looking for a way to find friends for her son. Her son did not go to out high school. He went to a special education school. And it wasn't that he was not a friendly young boy at all. The young boy had austism.
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by social interaction, and verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted or stereotyped behavior. (definition from Wikipedia.com). There is a lot of information and new studies about autism. The movies Rain Man and Temple depict the behavior of people with autism. However, the movie Temple is a true story of an autistic girl who goes to college and revolutionizes the way cattle is herded that is still used today. But when I met this boy in my junior year, I really didn't know what autism was.
The young boy was named Alex. And his mother loved him so much. And she was willing to pay someone to spend time with him once or twice a week. Well, my guidance counselor thought of me immediately and I immediately said "Absolutely not. I will not be paid to be someone's friend." There was no way I was going to be given money to spend time with this young boy. It was a privilege to just be his friend, period.
Another friend of mine and I would take Alex out for pizza and hang out with him for a couple of hours, we took him to see the Pirates of the Caribbean movie which he loved, we bought him the DVD for Christmas and brought it to his house on Christmas eve, and he also loved going to the Dollar Zone store.
There are many different variations and extremes to autism. Alex had the mentality of a young child and his speech and ways of communication was difficult. When he was younger, his aunt would tell him to eat his peas and carrots all the time. For years to come his aunt was known to him as "Peas and Carrots". Since he loved going to the Dollar Zone which he loved so much, anything he enjoyed or liked he would say "Dollar Zone." And he took a great liking to me and knew my name was Andrew. However, my friend at the time who joined me in spending time with Alex was also dubbed Andrew afterwards by Alex.
Over the years I have worked with a lot of children who are autistic. I know in my experience, martial arts has helped with the autistic children I had as students with their focus, their communication, and the sense of belonging that they want. So when I was asked to participate in a walk for autism, I had my older students and myself participate.
Unfortunately it was a very rainy day and things to help out with were limited. But even if all I did was direct people at the front entrance to the place they needed to be, I was happy to help. I am not one of those people who has to know someone with a disability or an illness to care. What I do understand is that there is a lot of ignorance in the world and misunderstanding of people that I cannot tolerate. Whether it be autism or any other disability, people need to rid themselves of ignorance and prejudices. This walk is very important to those who have autistic family members or friends. One shouldn't have to have someone they know for an event like this to be important to them.
Autistic people are not "different". They view the world differently so may behave differently, or understand our world differently. Different is not wrong. We all have our different ways of viewing the world and behaving in it. But autistic people can also love the same qualities as anyone else, they can smile like anyone else, and they share kindness like any other human being. Questions don't hurt, ignorance does.
There are a lot of things out in the world about possibly being able to cure autism, especially through nutrition. I have worked with many autistic children and have met many autistic people who are very functioning and able-bodied individuals who contribute great things to our world. Do not let the power of ignorance impair your ability to see the heart of an autistic person or a person of any disability. Focus on the wonderful qualities of another human being. And for the people who are autistic, focus on all the wonderful things you have to offer as well. (BOWS)
Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO
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