Friday, June 12, 2009

"Typical"

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A couple of days ago, I met with a case manager from a local Autism support organization. He will be assigning therapists who will be coming into our home several days a week to work with George. The meeting was for me to get to know him and a bit about the organization, and also for him to learn about George (from me, George was not there) and discuss our goals for him.

One of the questions he asked me was about George's interests, so that they can use them to make the learning more interesting. I heard these words come out of my mouth, "He's a typical almost-six-year-old boy. He likes robots, space, dinosaurs, and being active." Typical. Somehow I never thought that word would be used in conjunction with George. And yet, he is. Typical. Just a boy. At the playground today, he played on a merry-go-round with another five-year-old boy. And no one looked at him funny. And no one asked me why he wasn't answering the rapid fire questions the other boy was hurtling at him. If anything, that boy seemed odd!

He will never be cured, he will always be different and have to work hard to keep up. But maybe, just maybe, that's more typical than I ever thought.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

{{{clapping of hands over here}}}
I love your insights. I just do!

Beth said...

It makes you re-think typical, doesn't it!

Liz McCoy said...

that's exciting. I love this picture looks like he is invoking his super powers :D)

loonyhiker said...

Glad you are getting support! My hubby stills says that if I hadn't told him that George had a disability, he would never have known it because George seemed fine to him. Growing up, my hubby had a lot of difficulties in school and did not fit the mold like all of the other students. His parents used to worry about what would become of him. They were so proud of him when he became a judge! It took him longer than most people to figure out what his purpose in life was but maybe it found him. Being typically different is not a bad thing either. :)

Tanya @ TeenAutism said...

Definitely. I remember a few years ago when it was around New Year's and we got a new calendar, Nigel couldn't wait to write on it the days when there was no school, and I couldn't help but think - typical kid!