Today was James’ last day of school   and he received his first “real” report card!  His A- grade in British Literature was just the icing on the cake of an amazing month and year. In May James participated in the McLean Homeschool Group annual pageant which is a night of student performances including musical, dramatic and literary readings. James and Shannon presented his essay on Pilgrim’s Progress and he also had a part in a very funny skit!  (Both are pictured above). He is writing a blog post describing his pageant experience but it is not finished yet.

And last but not least James was a groomsmen again, this time for his brother Joe. It was amazing to see what a difference a year has made in his maturity and bearing.  He has worked hard on his self control and it really shows. When I write I am always thinking about those readers who have children with autism. I want you to know that we never dreamed James would be living the life he is now and it just gets better and better.

Today is James’ 16th birthday! We officially celebrated last week so some pictures from the party are here.  We are so grateful for this last year and all the changes it has brought.  James asked me to put his birthday thoughts on the blog so here they are: “I can’t believe I am 16! Have I really changed this much in a year? I keep remembering my old life and wonder how I made it here. Birthdays are a good time keeper.  Last year I was jealous of Meredith but had no word for it. I felt anxiety but mistook it for hunger, and I thought I was a genius but I was wrong. I have learned so much this past year, about the world and myself, but I have so much more to grow. I want to thank everyone who has supported me on my journey”.

We have a great group of local families working on full communication for their kids using RPM and other forms of  typing like Facilitated Communication.  We meet in various settings and this week some parents met at our house and we asked James and his friend Huan to share thoughts with the group as well as answer questions in a panel format.  Huan is 18 and is a close friend of James. His public school setting is very difficult, so people in our community are working on getting some much needed change in the district. James feels strongly with Huan that a full, mainstream education is a right that is being denied many people with autism so they spent some time discussing this with the group.  James opened the meeting with the following statement and some of his other comments are below as well.

One of the challenges James has faced in his homeschool class is participating in “timed essays”.  James can usually come  up with a thesis statement and ideas to back it up but to spell it out letter by letter is hard to do in the amount of time allotted.  His teacher has been great about letting him start with the class so he can get a sense of doing it like everyone else but then finishing it later at home.  The prompt for this essay was, Are snap judgments better than decisions to which people give a lot of thought? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Here is his essay.  Thesis:  Snap decisions do have negative consequences, making them inferior to rational decisions.

“There is a black man near the school and he has a gun.” A concerned citizen calls to alert the police. The police lock down the public schools. The manhunt begins for this armed black man. After a struggle, an officer tightens cuffs around this criminal.

The police worked given the information a scared citizen provided. In most situations, police must make snap decisions based on limited information. These situations allow room for error, a calculated risk preferred over other outcomes. For example, imagine a man evading police and a witness reporting he might be armed. The safe decision, to arrest and disarm the man, requires little thought and exemplifies the value of snap decisions. Unfortunately, snap decisions do have negative consequences, making them inferior to rational decisions.

In Stafford, Virginia in June 2010, a teenage boy with autism sat outside a library waiting for it to open. The next few hours changed his life forever. The female called the police based on her assumptions and began a series of snap decisions devoid of reason that devastated a family. In order to change the outcome, the woman should have thought about other possibilities beyond her initial judgment.

Experience influences snap judgments in the form of stereotypes. Stereotypes are useful and necessary tools, but they will persist until challenged by new information. Without rational thought, stereotypes perpetuate their own existence. A self-fulfilling prophecy ensues and the original stereotype strengthens. The woman allowed her stereotypes to influence the police, leading to hundreds of students and their parents fearing for their lives and a teenager afraid of what chased him. The autistic boy ran without knowledge of why the police were chasing him, he refused their search of his body, and he fought the handcuffs because the police neglected to tell him why or even ask him a question. The officer made snap decisions, understandably, but he also failed a citizen he swore to protect.

The benefits of snap decisions pale in comparison to rational thought when time is available. The time for the female caller to research the situation or to provide more information to the police could have saved everyone their hardships. A snap judgment should only be used when the time is restricted or when one decision will allow for a more rational decision. In this situation an innocent teen would have solace in the library instead of frustration in a cell.

James and Elizabeth listened to a talk given by philosopher Alan Watts entitled “What Do You Desire?” In it he says that he often asks his students “what would you do with your life if money were no object?” Elizabeth asked James to answer that question and here is his response.  (A lot going on in that 15 year old head of his!)

James’ British Literature class read the classic book Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. He had to write an essay in response to the book using something from his life. It is below:

Autism in a Speaking World

The allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, uses characters and places to tell two stories. The obvious story readers can find spelled out on the page, but the real story lives in the heart of each reader. Beelzebub, as the mayor of the merchant city, demonstrates the fear of change and how people can prioritize money over morality. He becomes hostile to Pilgrim and Faithful when they disrupt the town’s normal way of life. The calm demeanor and godly words of the pilgrims cause a catastrophe. Beelzebub condemns the pilgrims because their differences cause unrest and disorder.

Beelzebub forced me to live my worst memories. I recognize his fear and cruel reaction from people whom I have encountered. Yes, all people want their society to be clearly defined. I, however, challenge the idea of normal by looking different, and I bewilder their beliefs with my ability to think. My parents take me to public places and people act as if I am a child, playing peek-a-boo, or they act afraid, keeping away from me. In either situation I am the focus of attention because I am different.

As punishment for the pilgrims’ odd behavior, Beelzebub condemns them to a cage in the center of town. The cage in this story symbolizes how a community can punish thoughts that differ from the main beliefs and put them on display as an example. Some citizens of the Merchant City spoke out against the punishment and then Beelzebub scared them into submission. A literary example of public shame exists in The Scarlet Letter, with Hester Prynne. She remains scorned for adultery similar to the social ramifications for being termed a zealot.

Society still uses a version of cages for people who differ from the norm. My cage was special education, because autism makes me different. I do not often speak of my religion, as the pilgrims did, but I used to scream about my intelligence. The more fervently I screamed, the smaller my cage became and then the more I screamed. I was not a typical student and teachers thought I could not be intelligent. Some who tried to save people like me have been silenced from fear, just as the townspeople were silenced, but others succeeded. I broke out of my cage and now try to liberate others. In addition, I finally found a community that refuses cages and invites differences.

James had a chance to discuss some interesting quotes by famous people this weekend with Soma and with Elizabeth last week.  Elizabeth focused on the inspirational words of Martin Luther King. Here are some of James’ thoughts in response to the quotes she shared with him.

James’ first oral book report was due this week. The assignment was to be done over the Christmas break and it was a book of his choosing.  James chose Animal Farm by George Orwell which he listened to on tape this summer.  He had to listen to a lot of it again in order to write his report but it was worth it.  His teacher Shannon gave the oral report on his behalf.  Since it was to be presented to the class the main teacher said it needed to be interesting!  It was a big success so I thought I would share it.

Human Flaws Transcend Time

I had a dream! We were free to rule ourselves. Can you imagine a life without oppression? Then a battle for that exact freedom ensues and when the dust settles the oppressed stand as the victors. Free. Eventually a leader must arise and here sits Napoleon.

This sounds similar to many revolutions in history, yet it belongs to a novel, Animal Farm written by George Orwell. Even more intriguing, the victors are animals that just took control of their farm. The pigs quickly rise as the educated class, while the other animals find their place in the new society. Two pigs strive for leadership, Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball aims to be a great leader, yet Napoleon uses force to run him from the farm and assume full control.

The philosophy of animalism, all animals are equal, that started in the beginning began to crumble. The animals continue to follow Napoleon despite his obvious changes to the original agreements by all the animals. The pig named Squealer served as a propagandist to help sway the opinions of the common animals when they disagreed with Napoleon’s actions. His main statement being that Napoleon was acting on behalf of the whole farm and it was better than the old farm. Another key animal, the cart-horse named Boxer, helped the farm progress. He exemplifies dedication and loyalty throughout the novel.

Many themes run through this novel, but two dominate. The main theme, corruption, creates the backbone to the story. Napoleon trades the socialist ideals for the dictatorship he desires. When a reform group usurps a leader a new leader must arise, but often the new leader simply takes over the old reins. This occurs on the farm and the animals allow it because it is an improvement at first. The second theme, social stratification, displays itself from the revolution. This is the only fault shown in Snowball, the belief that pigs are smarter and leaders. People tend to group themselves and this is apparent on the farm.

George Orwell created this novel as a commentary on the politics of the Soviet Union, but it still applies today. More leaders, more countries, more decades. He describes basic human nature through animals on a farm. I highly recommend this book to all high school students. Whether history interests the reader, everyone can enjoy this novel.

James had a fun and creative lesson with Elizabeth today.  He spends so much of his RPM time doing school assignments or expressing himself for matters of daily life that it is easy to forget how wonderful (and important) creative exercises like this one are for him. In this lesson he listened to paragraphs of the story and then summarized what he heard after each one. Then he was asked to write his own modern version of Pandora’s Box.

Here is some of his summary and his own version of the story.

The gods sent Epimetheu another gift. It was a box they said not to open. One day Pandora’s curiosity got the best of her and she peeked in the box. When Pandora lifted the lid she released the Troubles. The Troubles flew out and stung her and Epimetheus. The Troubles brought illness, poverty and scarcity into the world. Hope was left in the box and convinced Pandora to release it. Hope flew around the world restoring the work the Troubles had made.

Basically I am living the actual story of Pandora’s box. My life has been filled with troubles. I have not been able to speak. I was trapped in an uncooperative body. No one thought that I was smart or capable of learning. I felt hopeless. I found hope or rather hope found me in the form of RPM. Now I have been released from silence!   The end!