“ Sometimes I think that my parents are aliens and they forgot what planet they left me on!!” my brother is constantly saying. “Everything in this world sometimes is confusing.” as he breaks down in tears for the thirtieth time this week. I know that he is having a hard time but I seem to have to tell him the same thing over and over. Mom says that he has to have lists, and everything has be on a schedule or he gets upset. If he gets to may things going on in his head he'll spin in a circle.
When he was little it used to bug Dad, because he tell him to go get ready for school. Twenty minutes later, he wouldn't be ready. Dad would walk into the bedroom and there he would be with one foot planted stepping this way then the next, like he couldn't move his foot but he was trying to remember what he was doing. Heck,he didn't really talk until he was almost 5, well he'd talk but unless you lived in our house you couldn't understand him.
When he started Kindergarten, his teacher was really nice and told Mom she thought he was having seizures, but the doctor ruled seizures out. The teacher used to have to call his name over and over to help him concentrate in class. One day someone dropped a book onto the floor and he jump clear over a table, then ran under a desk. He wouldn't come out until the teacher got the room cleared for recess. When the school had their first fire drill, the alarm just about sent him into orbit. The sound of the alarm sent him flying under a table holding on to his ears, his eyes were all scrunched up as tight as he could shut them and he just rocked back and forward.. His teacher couldn't get him out from under it. They sent a teacher after me to try to coax him out. By time I got to his classroom then the alarm had stopped and the teachers outside were doing their head counts. The boy was frantic. I had to crawl under the table and hold on to him. I softly sang him a song ,our mom sang to us and stroke his hair like mom did to him. He started to calm him down. Finally he opened his eyes and saw me there. He climbed up into my lap and held on for dear life. I dried his eyes and told him “That's a fire drill when you hear that noise you have to go outside with your teacher.” He looked at the teachers and took my hand to help me up. Then he started to pull me to the door. So we walked outside. Then the bell rang saying it was time to go in. I explained to him what the bell meant. He looked at me funny, but “There was a fire right?” “No, it was practice for if there was a real fire. We'll talk about it when I get home from school, okay?” As we walked back into his classroom. All the kids called him a big baby, but he doesn't seem to notice. While they other kids were playing at recess he would start watching the ants and following them , to see where they were going and coming from.
He didn't watch cartoons like most kids his age he watched science channels and would tell anyone that would listen to him about what he knew. And boy did he know a lot. I think he watched every television show about sharks and looked at every book about sharks there was in our town. He drove all of us crazy by the end of the summer sharks, sharks, sharks!!!
He started First grade , Mom knew that there was something different about him but she loves him just the same. His teacher tried to be more helpful. But his talking about sharks all the time was taking up class time and he wasn't doing his work. His teacher finally told him that he did his work in class that week,he could tell the class about sharks on Friday.
Well he worked real hard and on Friday he heading into class to find a Substitute Teacher. She didn't know about the deal his regular teacher had made. And told him that he was not going to talk about sharks. The other kids in the class tried to tell her that a deal was a deal and he had been good. But she said no. Boy !! Did he throw a fit everyone in the whole hallway could hear him howl. He hollered so loud that school principal came in to see who was hurt. As soon as she saw who was making all the ruckus, she knew exactly what happened. The principal was a nice lady and Mom had been talking to her a lot about my brother . Needless to say he got to give his talk on Sharks .The Substitute decided that she had a headache and had to go home. (I know I would have to because he has howled in my ear a few times too.) That's about the time we realized that he didn't like changes in his schedule. But there was other things too. He was told ahead of time about Fire Drills, if his regular teacher wasn't going to be at school .
In second grade Mom was talking to another new doctor,----we have had lots of doctors where we live. She told of all the thing that make him different than most kids. The doctor said that he would look into somethings and get back to mom. A week later, the doctor told mom to ask for testing at school. They had guy come over from a city near by to do the testing. When the tests were all done, Mom and him had to make a trip to that city near by to talk to another doctor.
When they got home ,it was late at night. I had just got into bed. Mom told me to get up and come listen to what the doctors said. It must be important if she is getting me up out of bed I thought. I sat down in the living room and he laid his head in my lap. He always liked the feel of my pajamas. I sit there and stroke his hair the way he likes. He settles his head and closes his eyes. Mom got a cup of coffee and sat down. She looked tired and worried. Dad and I just looked at her. Mom started with a sigh. “He is smart , very smart, in fact actually he is brilliant. His I.Q. is very high for a 7 year old. . But he does have some issues. “I thought here we go I know it is going to be horrible. “ He has poor small and gross motor skills, which means he has problems grasping things like pencils, paint brushes and stuff like that, He does and will have problems running and balancing. His speech is improving but he does have social skill issues too. Those skills are like him running up to people and hugging them all the time, or not giving people their space. He doesn't understand jokes The doctor asked him if he was pulling their leg and he told them he wasn't touching him. So how could he be pulling his leg.” I laughed to myself I could see him doing that. Mom went on to tell Dad they have a name for his diagnosis , Asperger Syndrome, which is a type of High Functioning Autism. Dad was in shock “Autism?? He has autism? No, he talks, he laughs, he doesn't sit and stare at the walls. He does things!” Dad yelled. My brother jumped up from his slumber on my lap and flew down the hallway. I went running after him , knowing that if I didn't catch him he'd be in the crawl space under Mom and Dad's bed which is really hard to get him out of , I know I showed it to him. . I could hear my parents talking as I made a grab for his ankle disappearing under the bed. I got him!!”Come here, it's okay, Dad is not mad at you.” I softly tell him as I pull him out from under the bed. “ It was a big day for you today wasn't it?” he nods then yawns. Mom comes in and tells us it is time for bed. He hugs me than heads to his room. Mom tells me goodnight and we will talk more in the morning. She has something for me to help me understand him. She tucks me in and kisses me good night.
I lay in the dark thinking ....My little brother is autistic, yet he is a high functioning autistic. Okay, I can deal with that at least now , I can explain to all those people who ask me what is wrong with my brother.