ASD is such a fascinating condition. Only slightly more than a year ago, I had some reservations about working with these children; they're aloof, distant and very difficult. (During my first placement, I was on eggshells every time I saw this ASD kid; he looked ready to burst into tears at the slightest provocation!) Less worrisome to work with the other kids, right? Children with Down's for instance, are so warm and adorable, and hug you for no reason.
But now, I feel quite the opposite. I'd be quite psyched to be assigned an ASD kid! Yes, I do think ASD is still something complex and difficult, but my gosh, so interesting.
This morning, a guest lecturer told us of a 7-year-old boy who, in the space of about 15 minutes and while his mum chatted to the therapist, filled an entire whiteboard (a'la John Nash in Beautiful Mind) with the anatomy of the brain, accompanied with chemical equations and scientific labels. His favourite hobby was to read the Encyclopedia Britannica.
This brilliant boy however declared, "I don't need any friends, I don't need my family, I don't need anybody." And then later said, "The person who invented friendship must have been very intelligent." Underlining the fact, that really, the social world is something incomprehensible to their intellect.
Sheldon Cooper is so real, y'all. And so is Mr Spock, perhaps, haha.
No comments:
Post a Comment