Here is to say that you don’t suck at life, because there are obstacles to overcome. There are challenges we face as human beings to be well…human. Enter: God. He fills, never destroys. He validates… then solidifies (what has gone to mush such as a dream) He melts that which has been hardened over. He can (heal) and will do what he has promised.
The idea of being used by God….I must say that he is fighting for me to want to be used for his pleasure. Like a flower is not merely used, but enjoyed. A relationship can be enjoyed through play. I have been working with 4 year olds just diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder, I caught God’s vision from working on the “other” transition age going from school to a job, and the need for early intervention in the just being diagnosed with the disorder, wild huh??..Enter: Shadelands Preschool…If you aren’t familiar with the Autism disorder, if it is somewaht of an enigma to you, well it is, but here are some web definitions…
affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play
form of pervasive developmental disorder with an unknown origin
A probably genetic condition in which a person is dis-associated from the reality around them
is a bioneurological disorder, not a mental illness, which affects the functioning of the brain
In other words, they are in their own world, they have no “filter”. External stimuli is hitting at them all at once without any organization of where to connect with it all. Some students hear everything and then repeat it in a sing songy voice, other see eveything , like the fan moving and can’t focus on anything else that is in front of them.
I have been blessed to work at the preschool where 9 or so kids come through everyday, their ages are around 4 or 5. There is a saying on a poster I read at teacher Phylis’s class, another class with kids with the same level of development: “Just because someone can’t speak doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say.” I have learned the value of bonding, of attachment, of need to express desire, of order, of routine, and repitition, to complete the communication process. There is always an exchange of information going on. There is never a dull moment. Keiko says she would make all the assistants not talk. That was a huge problem these lst two weeks with a sub teacher coming in. I got scratched up pretty bad from one of our students because the pace was dragging for these kiids who need structure. Their minds cannot focus on one thing and when they can’t filter, they act out for attention. One of those ways is screaming, the other kicking…natural progression of just not being up to their speed. I am afraid to say that it is so hard to be in a classroom where there is this awakening of learning going on, and other times this heart breaking lack of support of missed opportunity…lack of planning, thought, or knowledge…ultimately passion, heart, or committment. I think I am just tires, and a little disappointed that I see this stuff…I could probably be a catalyst for change, or just step back and let others learn the process that I see and move on from there. I may be in the wrong field. It is crazy how much I have seen in these kids, the social, the emotional journey in just 7 months. A student who just played with one car, isolated in his own world…now interacting with his classmates, totally engaged in playful activities, just today was laying in the plastic pool, while another was pouring water on him, both laughing, I also said good-bye to him on the bus, his eyes fully on me, another one smiling and saying, “Good-bye”…sigh…those moments…utterly sweet. There has been this intervention that has taken place, a history changing to how these children will be able to interact depite their diagnosis I feel. I feel that the brain is so moldable anfd fresh at this age, that anything is possble to learn, despite their genetic inheritance! I think God has just given me a glimpse of how he can heal, and how he knows us so radically, that we are so much alive, we can overcome obstacles. These kids laugh at each other, make jokes to us and use our names…they sing at circle, they play tickle monster, they wait in line, and eat heartily their favorite subject in school: Lunch!
I am thankful for this insight, and am thankful that one of our other teachers is coming back on Monday. Whew!
God Bless all
