A Desolate Man

As Autism Awareness Week nears I thought it might be timely to provide a view of autism from a different perspective & so I'm sharing a story written by one of my children.

I say written.  Actually, it was dictated.  Writing can be a challenge for autistic people.  Or rather, processing what's being asked, formulating a response & then translating that response into the written word ~ all in one go ~ can be a challenge for autistic people.  There are a number of ways to help, but one that works well for us at home is to create a relaxed environment & wait for the spoken words to flow (& in so doing reduce the length of the process).

Then we capture those words as best we can, scribbling or typing furiously, or recording.

This has often resulted in some pretty amazing authoring, in my opinion.  One day, I heard about a writing competition for kids so I though I would encourage a submission.    

We got comfy & this is was the result, word for word.  It's not necessarily about autism ~ but it could be ~ but it's an illustration of an autistic brain at work. 

A Desolate Man

by my child

A desolate man waiting to be reborn.

As a man, it's like he's never going to survive.  

His desolate & trembled life, it's so cold to be him.

This man is so poor & so old & so ragged & no one really cares.

"Yeah, my life is pretty pointless."

"Every day is like I've just gone to hell."

"And now I'm singing through my feelings because I don't want to hold them back."

"I've got to make sure my life doesn't hold me back because, at the moment, everything in my way is going to."

"I've got to make sure no one is there."

"I've got to make sure I've got my own space."

"I've got to keep going."

"That is really something, like something in my tummy.  I probably just ate nothing but if feels like all my organs & my body are broken."

As this man's hope has started to fade away, the only thing he wants to see in his life is his wife.  She hasn't seen him for 20 years.  It's something he's been willing forever.  Now is his time to shine.  This man's heart is beating fast as they start to notice him.  His wife remembers him from years ago & they re-join together as one.  This is how this man's life goes from bad to good.

"It's been 20 years since I saw you."

"It's been way too long."

"Then let me join this calm & happy life on the beautiful coast of Scotland where people have joined together at so many events, I can't even say."

The End.


One characteristic of autism can be to have an idiosyncratic way of speaking.  Another can be a tendency to be over sensitive ~ to feel things more acutely & more deeply.

I think this story provides a small insight into both.

We don't know about the competition yet. 

from awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com