To 4th Grade (I Went)

Old pic, from Spring Break. I was hoping to have a few pictures for you from my adventure in 4th grade, but SmallBoy was doing such a great job, that I didn't want to distract him with pictures. Yesterday, I went to his class, at the request of his teacher, to talk to them about SmallBoy and Asperger's. Prior to the beginning of school I had sent her some info and a copy of our book (I include Marti & Child in the "our"). She read the book that explains SmallBoy, in terms his peers can understand, and loved it. She felt it would help for the class to hear it and to be able to ask questions and be curious.

The teacher wanna-be in me came out and I made copies of the book for everyone in the class so that they could follow along. SmallBoy and I were going to alternate pages, but he ended up reading the whole book to his class, taking time to explain things. He did such a wonderful job and I was SO SO very proud of him. Afterwards, we took questions:

"So when we're talking to SmallBoy and he gets upset and mad, is that the Asperger's?"

"My neighbor who is five years old has Asperger's and he tells everyone that he's special."

"Can you 'get' Asperger's when you're this old?"

"How do you find out if you have it?"

"Do you have to get a shot to find out if you have Asperger's?"

There were many many many, including many comments of others about those who exhibit similar behavior or behavior that appears on the lower ends of the spectrum. I actually explained the spectrum to the class, as simply as I could, and SmallBoy helped by drawing "people" and writing on the board the different ways the people on different parts of the spectrum "look" and "act". The kicker questions were these, though:

"So, like, when SmallBoy acts like that, we shouldn't make fun of him anymore, right?"

...followed by another child who surprised me by asking,

"But shouldn't we not do that to anybody anyway?" (transl: Shouldn't we NOT make fun of people anyway?)

It surprised me coming out of that particular child, as he, though not the one who would be the bully in the group, would be one to go along with the group. Great questions. I have to admit, I got choked up and pulled one of my better Oscar performances out to answer the "making fun of" question, and the teacher also chimed in. By the same token, however, it proved that yes, it helps to educate even this young, and especially those with whom your child will be spending a great deal of time. It helps to educate everyone if it helps make a difference to one other child or person. Hopefully now, these children will have the knowledge, or at least the means to think about and discern how to act around those who are "different" from themselves.

Marti, I can't even begin to thank you & Child for writing your book, for sharing it with us, and helping us to educate others.