So, our church has a group called Kaleidoscope that pairs volunteers with special needs kids so that the kids can be mainstreamed into the Sunday school and other programs with their volunteer. If the kid needs to be away from the crowd, we take them down to the Kaleidoscope room.
Well, usually I work with Jake, who has autism. He's super sweet and very imaginative. Both he and the other autistic kid in his class do pretty well most of the time, but the group activities include a singing and skit time that are really rowdy and loud, and the two boys get really overstimulated and overwhelmed. That's when they start acting in ways that really draw attention to them, and we tend to pull them into the other room.
Yesterday I was paired with a new kid who has mild autism and ADHD. The kid was a trip! He's incredibly smart. One of the first things I asked him was what school he went to, and he said, "I go to _____, but I haven't set foot in the door yet." "Oh, so you're starting a new school. What are you doing over the summer?" "Well, at the moment I'm taking some well-deserved R&R." haha!
He, like the other two, disliked the group time. But instead of beginning to jump around and act unusually, he covered his ears and moved to the back of the room and said to me, "I just cannot understand how you find this enjoyable." Later on he'd put together a relay race and was all hot and sweaty and said, "My, I'm parched, I really should get a drink of water." I told him he had an incredibly good vocabulary, and he said, "Why thank you. I know I have an above-average intelligence."
The flip side of that coin is that he's currently obsessed with controlling the elements. The very first thing he said to me when he took my hand and we went walking towards the sunday school room was, "I am working to gain control over the elements, like God. At the moment I can only control water, but I'm working on fire. People like me are called "Elemental masters". We communicate via ESP, so that we are aware of each other at all times. We are born with these abilities, but you don't become aware of them until after the age of 5." ooookay. And when I began a discussion of humanity's levels of control over the elements (to be fair, we do manipulate "earth" into all sorts of metallic things, and fabric, and then there's electricity, gas, etc..) in comparison to God's, he said, "Oh, I don't believe in God."
Wow, he's in fourth grade and he's decided that already.
Very interesting kid... very interesting.
Comments (6)
OMG I want to meet this kid....about the ESP part..I do believe in some sense that it can be possible. But as to whether he will be able to control the elements..um I highly doubt it because there are not many who are able to channel it to that extent. Sad though that he being as smart he is would not accept the existance of another intelligent being..what a sad world!! But all hope is not lost...
He sounds amazing, and so vulnerable too. I just want to protect him!
wow...i can see this kid being a particle physicist or nuclear physicist. that's either really amazing or a little bit scary...or both. i guess this is kind of off topic, but i've been realizing what kind of power scientist really can have in our society. people who make new medicines, engineers, architects, researchers... it's pretty amazing. what if north korea didn't have scientists who knew how to build nuclear reactors? but they do. anyway, no matter what direction this boy's life takes him, what a great opportunity to be a part of his life now while he is young. i guess i'm getting excited about teaching. =)
@subarcticsuburbia - I agree. He's the kind of kid that has a ton of potential and a ton of potential to be hurt as well. His intelligence is high but the world is night kind to people who are out of the ordinary. He said at one point, "Most of the other kids at school think I'm a weirdo".
I hope that he find a niche for himself and doesn't become depressed!
@melissamatilda - Completely. I think he could be awesome in some scientific field, he clearly thinks out of the box and is super intelligent. I am afraid for him, afraid he'll isolate himself too much, become depressed, withdraw.... just because his brain is moving so much faster then he is developmentally, as well as the fact that he's just unusual and feels weird because of that. You're right - teaching is SUCH an opportunity though, with a kid like this you can guide that mind AND teach him how much he is worth in the process
@Cathyannev - all hope is not lost! I would love to know where he got that idea, he had to hear someone say they didn't believe in God, surely? I don't know, I'd love to see where he goes in the future but I'm not goign to be assigned to work with him usually...