Staying Hopeful: Charlie at the Old Stone House
April 20, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
It was past midnight when we got home from Brooklyn on Thursday, after MothersVox’s and my reading with Brooklyn Reading Works at The Old Stone House. She has written up a lovely summary of what she read and what I read. Thank so much to all who came—I would like to sit down with each of you (with coffee, perhaps) and just talk, and just listen. Thank you.
There is always time to describe the kind of good feeling and warmth that emanated from the second floor room of The Old Stone House, of the immediate connections—the bonds—I feel when I meet parents and relatives of autistic persons. I will be writing more about what was said, and about the whole adventure of the evening (Charlie had a lot of subway rides). When I came home, though after getting Charlie into his pajamas and then bed, and when I sat down to write, what I felt I had to post about was this. After reviewing the headlines in the news sources this morning, it is clear that a lot of speculation, rumor, and very charged worry is spreading around the internet, and will continue to do so; that the word “autism” and an “autism diagnosis” are being associated with some things that all of us would rather these not be associated with. I hope we can proceed to respond to all this carefully. I hope we can try to steer clear of hopelessness, and of hysteria.
Here is something hopeful.
Charlie attended part of the reading last night and, in particular, the part when I was reading. Jim and I have a policy of not talking about him in his presence and—seeing him sitting in the front row looking at me out of the sides of his eyes and trying not to make a sound—everything I was reading sounded very different; I kept glancing over at Charlie. How, in particular, should I read my renditions of Charlie’s speech
As ever, Charlie helped me out. A few sentences into me reading Translating Sappho, Translating Charlie, he said “Mom!”
I looked up. “Yes, Charlie.”
“Mom!”
“Yes?”
“I want!”
“You want…..”
“I want. I want. I want, Mom, I want!”
Or something like that—MothersVox and I are working on putting up a podcast, so you can test my memory against what Charlie really said. Jim and Charlie went out for a walk (and a snack, and one of those subways rides) and I continued to read, in the echo of Charlie’s own voice.
Which I hope you’ll be able to hear, very soon.
I LOVE THIS! “I want Mom” – sounds like a very clear message to me.
Bud and I had a similar interaction last weekend. I had to take him to work with me because I was doing a Saturday morning training with students. He sat in the back row of the classroom wearing his headphones and watching his DVD player, and I was in mid-sentence, in the middle of a presentation in the front of the room, when I heard his voice pipe up from the back – “Mama?”
“Yes, Bud?”
“You’re talking now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“And then you come back here?”
“Yes, I will.”
“And then you come back here to me?”
“And then I’ll come back there to you.”
I am so sad that I missed the reading, but so happy that there will be a podcast. And I will continue to hope that there will be another opportunity at another time to meet you and Jim and, especially, Charlie.
My emotions are high anyway today. But I so wish I could have heard this!!!! I will look forward to the podcast.
I also wish I could have been there. My sister said it was truly wonderful. Looking forward to the podcast!
KAL: It was _wonderful_ to meet your sister—-it was an excellent evening! I’m ready for a repeat….
Sounds like a wonderful evening. I’m a bit emotional already today and that just put me over the top. Charlie sounds like such a great kid.
I eagerly await the podcast.