///lll\\\** Autism ** The Winner's Spectrum ///lll\\\ - Page 2

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Posted: 6 years ago

Mr. and Mrs. Sharma sat down tentatively. Mr. Singh, the head of Sunshine High School sat two rows behind the couple.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that their only son, Shivam was diagnosed with Autism. Mr. and Mrs. Sharma were already struggling with bombshell of a revelation when they were called by the principle of the institution.

Children of age ranging roughly from five to eighteen were roughly assigned with different kinds of work. They were all guided by different instructors appointed to each group. Activities like puzzles, recitation of nursery rhymes were conducted.

Each activity were designed to improve their receptiveness to the various stimuli around them.

The couple looked around to see cardboard relics of the heroes of the comics series- the X-Men placed at different points of the room.

Hardly had the bell rang when the coordinator entered the classroom.

He bowed and the kids followed suit.

Mr. Lalwani, the coordinator, then called for silence.

"Today, my little stars, I'm here to tell you a special story. A story that is very close to my heart.

"Once upon a time there was a boy, Charles, just like you and me, just a tad bit different. He lost his father at a very young age." He stood up on the chairs lines up against the wall. "He was very upset when that happened. Then, one day, he realized he could read minds. You want to know how he did it?" Some of the children nodded.

Mr. Lalwani jumped down and picked the youngest of the kids, "Okay, lets see what Akash is thinking. You want a round of the one-two-three game, isn't it?" he winked at the child who hesitated, but then let the teacher guide him. Smiling, Mr. Lalwani, touched the boy's forefinger with his thumb. He softly pushed his thumb down and then helped the boy touch his thumb again. They played the game till the boy had enough. The teacher smiled at the child who was now placing some colourful rings on a pole in the order of their size. It was clear that he had done it many times.

However what attracted Mrs. Sharma's attention was how the teacher looked positively stressed while playing the game. It was as if he too was facing the same problem as the little boy in coordinating his fingers in time with the child. She assigned the reason to the general stress of handling fifty differently abled kids all at once and cast aside the thought.

Mr. Lalwani continued, "So, this boy, Charles was a little different from us. He could read minds. But his brother Cain often fought with him due to it. He used to get very angry when his brother shouted at him. One day, Charles read his brother's mind and realized that he was only doing that to relieve his sadness at being neglected by their mother and Charles' step-father.

"After he graduated, he met Scott, another boy who was just like him. Thus, Charles Xavier started a school called the Xavier's School for Gifted Children that was both a training ground and a refuge for the children with special children like him."

"The world called these specially abled children Mutants, while Charles, now Professor Xavier, called them the X-Men."

"Then Charles traveled around the world picking up students- mutant humans and normal ones alike."

"Some were unable to speak their minds, struggling within themselves to keep up with the pace of the world."

"Some were prisoners in their own minds, tired of the drabness of a day but terrified of life's uncertainty."

"Some were so frustrated with being snubbed and rebuffed by the their 'normal' peers that they often sunk to the level of harming themselves."

"But hey! They did not know they could save the world!"

"Every child chosen by Xavier was brought to his home, the X mansion, to train them in accepting who they are and in loving those who were a little different from them."

With a jolt Mrs. Sharma realized Mr. Lalwani was indeed talking of the symptoms of autism. A look at her husband, and they realized the teacher was speaking more to them than to the children.

Both touched and taken aback, Mr. and Mrs. Sharma decided to meet the teacher in person.

Edited by verisimilitude - 6 years ago

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proteeti

@wayward

IF-Sizzlerz

+ 8

Posted: 6 years ago

After the class was over Mr. and Mrs. Sharma walked up to Mr. Lalwani who was packing up. Mr. Sharma tapped him gently on the shoulder. He had to retreat by a couple of steps as the teacher turned with a jounce. Evidently, the latter had not sensed their approach.

He grasped Mr. Sharma's hands but dropped them almost immediately and resumed his act of collecting his digital pens one by one and dropping them into his pencil box. The parents could sense his nervousness.

"I was wondering whether we could have a word." said Mrs. Sharma. Mr. Lalwani looked unsure but he said with a jerk of his head, "Of of course you can have it. A word, yes, you can have a word. Yes, a word."
Mr. Sharma said, "We had come here on the recommendation of Mr. Singh, the headmaster of Sunshine High School, which my child used to attend. It's- it's about our son; our only child, you know. He's a special child too. Our Doctor, Mr. Holkar says he shows the symptoms of Autism." The teacher nodded.

Mrs. Sharma continued in a voice barely audible, "I've read quite a bit since then. The clauses of reduced responsiveness and repetitive behaviour does definitely match. I've read that the understanding of the factors that may cause this- this disorder is yet incomplete and it has long been presumed that there is some common cause at the genetic, cognitive, and neural levels for the symptoms of autism. But Sir, have the vaccinations got anything to with this? My Aunt Shyamala was saying the other day-"

"Of course that is false Mrs. Sharma." said the teacher, "That is very much false. Vaccination has got nothing to do with Autism. I hope your son hasn't missed any of them owing to this misconception?"
"No, we couldn't take the risk, could we?" answered Mr. Sharma.
"Good," replied Mr. Lalwani. "Autism is a neural disorder that limits your child in just some walks of life; in others you will find he is not only equal to, but much more capable than other boys his age."

Mrs. Sharma smiled for the first time since the morning. Mr. Lalwani nodded his head in an odd way, as though he both understood and was perplexed by the change.

He smiled too, "I'm glad you decided to give your child the help he needs. I promise our institution will do everything in its power to keep your child happy while at the same time help him to overcome the few petty obstacles in his way. In fact I am proud of your courage. The fact that you did not try to hide him from the rest of the world; that you have accepted him the way he is, and are ready to help him thrive.

"Having gone through the same phase once, I can totally understand what your child might be going through, enduring the likes of, with due respect, your Aunt Shyamala. My parents understood my predicament, but they had lacked the courage to get proper medication. They were unsure of taking me to family gatherings, since I made few eye-contacts and spoke so less. They were also apprehensive of leaving me in a day-care or with a nanny. I had difficulties in expressing myself and they thought that I'd probably be neglected among the other, more expressive children.

"I'm not blaming them, for they have done enough. And I know the times are different, but I'm still proud of you, and I am sure your son will one day be someone we all will be proud of.

"Also I was lucky to never have had ASD in its more severe form and most people did not realize I was different unless I spoke. I would not be standing before you today, if not for the constant help and support of my teacher, Mr S. Arun."

Edited by Radhikerani - 6 years ago

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