Lets Talk About ...
Autism!
After a mostly boring day at the office, I decided that I didn't want to cook chicken breasts tonight. What I really wanted was pizza. That being said, somehow we ended up at Center Court. (Typical dinner for the Coffman's!). We ordered something different - a buffalo chicken pizza and It was delicious.
While we were waiting on our food a sweet boy, about 10, came up to the bar with his hands full of roses. He had a little spiel, and all I caught was he was selling them to save for a trip - he was with his Grandpa. Immediately I knew there was more than meets the eye...
I'd say im pretty lucky, you see - I had the pleasure of working with an amazing autistic child for almost a year.
To this day, I still believe that was one of my favorite jobs. I miss Ben and Maddy more than you could ever imagine. Thankfully, we are still close and I have a great relationship with his family, (who, by the way, are very important people in my life -I feel like we belong together.
Well, this child was very obviously autistic. Of course we had no money, but I sweet talked the bartender into giving me done cash. I ran out after the little boy and brought him $5, which gave me 3 roses. (These were fake roses made by his grandmother, they even smelled good too)
Normally, I would have turned my head and ignored him. Since he was autistic I had a mission...
After I gave the little boy money, he told me I could choose 3 roses, but I wasn't sure which one i wanted. So I put him up to the challenge - pick three roses out for me. When he handed them to me I asked why he chose each one. His response is as follows:
Red - a practical, pretty rose
Bright Pink - unique and pretty, just like you
Blue - the only blue I have - so it's one of a kind.
Yup, I thanked him, gave him a high five, and returned to the bar. I am 99% positive that this lil' guy was autistic. I sat down and the tears started flowing. I felt like an emotional wreck. The one dude sitting next to us patted me on the back, and said I did the correct thing. The thing that most impressed me, whether he was actually trying to earn money got a trip or not, is that he tried. It was a very awkward situation. He made eye contact, asked his question, and thanked the person either way. He had a few of the 'quirks' that Ben had - 'stimming' with head rotation, flapping of the hands, etc.
Obviously I convinced chad to buy me the flowers. It was for a good cause, even if it was a scam I feel like it was great for this young man.
I got teary eyed because, although I love my job, it took me back to the Days of Ben. I absolutely love that kiddo. There are times that I feel like I missed my calling - I'd be a damn good special Ed teacher. I suppose there's always time to change...
I truly love working with Autistic kids and would be super happy to go back to this line of field.
Thank you Ben, Maddy, Kevin and Teri for allowing me to.be a part of your family. It means more than you will ever know. And, in addition, I love you all like a fat kid loves cake. Muah! Hope to see y'all soon!!!
XO,
Miss G
After a mostly boring day at the office, I decided that I didn't want to cook chicken breasts tonight. What I really wanted was pizza. That being said, somehow we ended up at Center Court. (Typical dinner for the Coffman's!). We ordered something different - a buffalo chicken pizza and It was delicious.
While we were waiting on our food a sweet boy, about 10, came up to the bar with his hands full of roses. He had a little spiel, and all I caught was he was selling them to save for a trip - he was with his Grandpa. Immediately I knew there was more than meets the eye...
I'd say im pretty lucky, you see - I had the pleasure of working with an amazing autistic child for almost a year.
To this day, I still believe that was one of my favorite jobs. I miss Ben and Maddy more than you could ever imagine. Thankfully, we are still close and I have a great relationship with his family, (who, by the way, are very important people in my life -I feel like we belong together.
Well, this child was very obviously autistic. Of course we had no money, but I sweet talked the bartender into giving me done cash. I ran out after the little boy and brought him $5, which gave me 3 roses. (These were fake roses made by his grandmother, they even smelled good too)
Normally, I would have turned my head and ignored him. Since he was autistic I had a mission...
After I gave the little boy money, he told me I could choose 3 roses, but I wasn't sure which one i wanted. So I put him up to the challenge - pick three roses out for me. When he handed them to me I asked why he chose each one. His response is as follows:
Red - a practical, pretty rose
Bright Pink - unique and pretty, just like you
Blue - the only blue I have - so it's one of a kind.
Yup, I thanked him, gave him a high five, and returned to the bar. I am 99% positive that this lil' guy was autistic. I sat down and the tears started flowing. I felt like an emotional wreck. The one dude sitting next to us patted me on the back, and said I did the correct thing. The thing that most impressed me, whether he was actually trying to earn money got a trip or not, is that he tried. It was a very awkward situation. He made eye contact, asked his question, and thanked the person either way. He had a few of the 'quirks' that Ben had - 'stimming' with head rotation, flapping of the hands, etc.
Obviously I convinced chad to buy me the flowers. It was for a good cause, even if it was a scam I feel like it was great for this young man.
I got teary eyed because, although I love my job, it took me back to the Days of Ben. I absolutely love that kiddo. There are times that I feel like I missed my calling - I'd be a damn good special Ed teacher. I suppose there's always time to change...
I truly love working with Autistic kids and would be super happy to go back to this line of field.
Thank you Ben, Maddy, Kevin and Teri for allowing me to.be a part of your family. It means more than you will ever know. And, in addition, I love you all like a fat kid loves cake. Muah! Hope to see y'all soon!!!
XO,
Miss G
Comments
Post a Comment