Saturday, July 7, 2012
Story about a child
Actually this story is about a group of children. One school year about 12 years ago, I had a little boy that was autistic, although he hadn't been officially diagnosed because they said he was too young. The children in this class were very bright 4 year olds. The little boy, I'll call him Bobby, would flap his arms and hands every time he got excited. If we were playing a game that the children were enjoying, they would tell me, "Ms. Jo, look at Bobby, he's having fun too." If Bobby was sitting at the table and had to get up to get water, or throw something in the garbage, he would forget where he was sitting at the table. The other children caught on to this and whoever was sitting next to him, would say, "here Bobby, this is your chair." It touched me very much that these children knew Bobby was different but yet never mocked or bullied or even ignored him. They had true compassion and empathy for their friend.
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I think that this is an awesome story of how your kids helped Bobby. It shows how with the help and support of loved ones in a child's life, how they learn to be compassionate towards others. It's also sad to see kids not being diagnose just because of their age. Kids like Bobby can benefit so much from services. The sooner they get the skills to help them through life the better they will be off as they get older. Thanks so much for this heart warming story!
ReplyDeletehi Mary Jo, I think all children have the capacity to be compassionate, yet they need to be in an environment that supports this. I have a good feeling that you modeled the nurturing cooperative spirit. - shelly
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