Pawned Virtue - #wattys2015 BK4 TPBS - Completed 1st draft

-91-

Not edited. Tissues may be needed for some who know... and there may be a little educating going on xxx

A decision had been made. The best way for them all to meet Christopher without him being overwhelmed. The main fear they had was the possibility of upsetting him and him shutting down and blocking the world out.

So they waited. Lucas, Tara, Damon and Maxon. They waited for Marcus to walk out with Christopher and Gemma to the garden where they waited at a table set against a backdrop of beautiful yet unscented flowers.

They all knew they were in for some major learning about autism and how it affected the life that Christopher led. Just meeting new people was a task in itself, everyone had different ideas on dressing and personal smells from shampoos and soaps were a sensory nightmare.

Maxon had done some training through the school he was working in because a number of students were on the Autistic Spectrum and as they waited he explained a little about what he'd learnt and observed.

"Imagine a photo. We look at an image and see it for what it is because the images are seen as they should because they go through th right brain impulses to let us know exactly what we're looking at."

"So we see things as what's considered the normal way?" Damon asked.

"That's right, but with a person who's on the spectrum the images don't go through the brain like ours."

"What's that mean?" Tara asked.

"Well" Maxon paused as he looked for the right words "think of that photo as being in quarters and our brains quickly put them back together. Well, for someone with autism the photo may be cut into thousands of pieces and the direct line to the brain processing them are obscured. Images go through to the brain eventually but in the meantime they're shooting all over the brain.."

"Like they went the wrong way?" Lucas asked.

"Exactly. They don't follow the right way, they follow the only way they can."

"Yeh but don't they end up in the right place anyway?"

"Mostly" Maxon shrugged "but take a look around" he swept his hand around the garden "everything you see is an image. Our brains process them quickly but every little thing you see in this one 'picture' has to be processed by the brain so you know what to expect from your surroundings. It takes time for someone with autism to do this. Like I said, they're all images that need to be processed and when it takes time for the brain to process it all correctly it becomes scary and overwhelming."

"That's why some kids I've seen have meltdowns isn't it?" Damon spoke as if a lightbulb had gone on inside his own brain.

"Right. The kids are scared because their brains are taking time to understand their surroundings."

"That's not the only reason for meltdowns though is it?" Lucas asked "I mean, what about smells and touch?"

Maxon nodded.

"Still goes back to how the brain processes what's happening. Everything we do governed by the brain. Eating, drinking, sleeping, talking..."

"Yeh about that" Damon cut in "why can't Christopher talk? I mean like using his voice, I know he talks in other ways but..."

"Something has to give. With everything else going on it makes it difficult for even what we consider the simplest of things to happen."

"So why are those with autism usually able to do one thing perfectly?" Damon asked.

"They can't. A common misconception brother. Just like you and I are brothers we're our own person. Just because I like burying myself in history books doesn't mean you do."

"You got that right" Damon recountered with a grin "I mean, a little is ok but you can have the obsession."

"Hey that's another thing... obsessions. I read" Lucas grinned sheepishly "I did a bit of reading last night. I read that it was fairly common for someone with autism to be obsessed with one subject or another."

"All of us have obsessions twirp. The difference is that we aren't as obvious because we do other things as well that are considered normal. So saying that obsessions are common is right..." he paused "but they're normal for everyone."

"You know Max" Damon started to speak "I would never have guessed when we were talking about Christopher with Marcus the other day that you knew all this. Why didn't you say something then?"

"Easy" Maxon shrugged "because Christopher is his own person and learning about him was more important than spruking off about what I did and didn't know."

"We had a girl in my class with something called Aspergers. Thats on the spectrum as well isn't it?" Tara asked.

"It is. Someone with aspergers is considered to be high functioning. What that means is they're still affected by their environment while their brains are able to process things a little closer to you and me but with some things still like someone with more functioning problems."

"It's a learning process trying to understand all this isn't it?" Damon spoke.

"It's easy enough if you just remember one thing.."

"What's that?"

"That it's normal to be different."

A young girls voice had them turning quickly in that direction.

"Hi. I'm Gemma and that" she pointed to the young boy playing quietly in the garden with his yellow car "that's Christopher."