Story About a Child That Touched My Heart

One story that remains a part of my life is when a child was assigned to my classroom whom was diagnosed with autism and was blind in one eye. She was moved to my room because the larger room that she was in 1. the parents were not happy and 2. she was invisible. I was concerned initially when the child entered my room because after the parents trained and educated us on her temperament, likes, dislikes, abilities and the fact that her prosthetic eye may pop out from time to time; I was not too comfortable. All I could think about was, her eye popping out, picking it up and putting it in a baggy ! "Lawd" have mercy! The first two weeks were interesting to say the least, I learned that this child communicated by repeating whatever I said to her (like a parrot) and she did not like to be touched or have the toys rearranged in the room. The parents were like night and day, dad was patient and mom was not; I had to send mom packing a few times until she realized that I was not a fan of hers and the way she spoke to her daughter. I learned so much about autism because of this child. I visited her school that she attended for a few hours daily where I learned that I could communicate with her through pictures, textures and Yes or No cards. I toilet trained her, taught her signal words to use when she would use inappropriate words, taught her how to dress herself and I even became comfortable when her prosthetic eye would come out; I would rinse it and she would put it back in her eye socket. I was so protective of this little girl and everyone knew it! They knew not to talk negative about her or disrespect her in any way or they would answer to me. She remained in my room until the family relocated to a new military base. I enjoyed the family. In the end it was a pleasure working with the family. She was my baby and I love her because, I had a hand in nurturing her to become independent. I wish I could see her today!

Shelita