Thinking in Pictures

Note: Yesterday I took Toby and our grandson Mareto to the beach for a walk. You may not know that Mareto is autistic.  What does he think about, and how? For now, he cannot say. 

"If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not - because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am."

Temple Grandin as quoted by Oliver Sacks in the foreword to Thinking in Pictures

"To have feelings of gentleness, one must experience gentle bodily comfort...After I experienced the soothing feeling of being held, I was able to transfer that good feeling to the cat...this helped me understand the ideas of reciprocity and gentleness."

Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures

"The teachers [at nursery school] knew how much to intrude gently into my world to snap me out of my daydreams and make me pay attention. Too much intrusion would cause tantrums, but without intervention there would be no progress. Autistic children will remain in their own little worlds if left to their own devices."

Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures

Mareto is feeling the texture of a broken shell.

I hope Mareto will have many fine and sensitive teachers in his life. He has enormous potential.

Yesterday he pointed to the sky as two Navy jets roared overhead from nearby Oceana Naval Station, and I said "airplane". After a few tries, he said it too. 

At one point he lay on the sand, looking at the sky and resting. Suddenly he pointed and said "Airplane!". Sure enough, two passenger jets - small white specks - glided silently far above.