you rise with the memory
of your first taste of schoolyard
grace and lay it softly against
the backboard
I’m getting to know our recently hired, part-time, two half days a week nurse over morning coffee. She’s thinking about trying to find a group home for her son. I … Continue reading →
“People are so afraid of variety that they try to fit everything into a tiny little box with a specific label,” says 16-year-old Rosie King, who is bold, brash and autistic.
how happy and lucky
it made us feel to know
we had someone we loved
who loved us back
Louis, 8-and-a-half years old, is autistic. He arrives at his new school and is about to introduce himself.
He loves watching cars glide by,
sliding his special pass in the slot
to pay, sitting by a window, feeling
the drum and hum beneath his feet.
Autistic individuals are, on average, more consistent, less biased, and more rational than non-autistic individuals in a variety of contexts.
He makes a wounded bird sound
if we have to sit at the bar, wait
for a table, or the waitress brings
his apple juice a bit too slowly
In observance of Autism Acceptance Month, we asked four illustrators on the autism spectrum to create a self-portrait of themselves. We asked one simple question: As a creative on the autism spectrum, what’s something you would like others to know?
He freezes, tries not to look at me and places
his hand over his mouth as this boundless
sound spills out, his eyes bubbly blue champagne,
while his body shakes and shivers in happiness.
The park ranger herded us down
the chained path sloping into the earth
until we came to a cathedral
where columns of rock caught the light
and shimmered.
This was our childhood.
We were all left
to scavenge the woods
Before plunging into the grim cauldron that is this week’s news about the ravaging of democracy, decency and our precious, fragile, singular planet, here’s a picture of a small good thing.
Many of the issues people have had with Keillor’s behavior through the years may have been caused by his autism.