The Speed of Dark

M- will have hours at his part-time job this week, in addition to his classes (first time he’s had work hours since December.)   He was missing his job (bussing tables at a pizza place) and thinks he can handle both.  His performance in the classes has been excellent so far, so…why not try it?  As he moves to more advanced classes, he may not be able to do it all, but now he’s in the groove with these.

The bus trip has become routine; we told him he didn’t need to call us on arrival anymore…to save his minutes for emergencies.   He calls when he catches the express bus (his second bus)  so we know what time to pick him up–if traffic is heavy, he tells us the bus may run late.

I still get the lump in my throat when I think of all the things we were told he might never do…that he’s doing.   Sometimes it seemed like things would never change–that he was stuck at one level or another–but the stuck part always came unstuck in the end, and now he’s pushing himself.    He still needs help with the work (esp. reading) but today when R- asked if his “transition to college” class was having them work in groups he said yes…and when R- then asked if he was able to help the group or if others did most of the work, he said “I help them” in a tone that beautifully expressed “Of course!”   Later, with almost the right intonation, he said of the sunset “Boy, that orange is ORANGE.”

He was also able to say that “Sometimes people who have trouble talking don’t know how to tell when it’s their time to talk.”    So we’ll have a talk about that, because that is one of the things many people on the spectrum can’t figure out.   The signals for “your turn” and “long enough” are mostly nonverbal.