Over the last several years, I have wondered what Jimmy will do when he grows up. As a family, we have stressed about how to help Jimmy create a meaningful life. Before he was diagnoses with autism, Jimmy was a bright and giggly little guy. He was named after his grandfather, a Harvard graduate. Jimmy was smart and I figured he might become an academic. Most certainly, he would have advanced degrees like his father and grandparents. At about age two, illness and doctor visits were a regular part of Jimmy's day. Loss of language and eye contact preceded the devastating diagnosis of autism. We wondered, how could this be? This beautiful child whose future seemed so bright just months before. One of the first physicians told us that Jimmy might be institutionalize by the time he was ten. Unwilling to believe this fate would become a reality, we provided Jimmy with as many opportunties for treatment that we could find. The resources were limited as the diagnosis was considered rare in 1996 at 1 in 10,000 births. Nevertheless, I refused to give in to the talk we were hearing.I see potential. Everyone has it no matter what the IQ . Potential needs to be identified, developed and nurtured. Over the years, Jimmy's health Potential needs to be identified, developed and nurtured. Over the years, Jimmy's health was more like a teeter totter and than a straight line. During one of the health down turns, I came to the sad realization that Jimmy wouldn't go to college and he might not be an independent human being. These were crushing thoughts. We needed to identify what he was or could be good at so that he would have a place in this world. I often asked autism specialists and professionals what would Jimmy be like and what could he do when he got older. I rarely received a response that I could live with. So, I developed my own benchmarks which included: 1) Love what you do 2) Do what you love and 3) Life long learning.
Just before Jimmy was diagnosed, I told the doctor that I could show Jimmy how to do a task and he would do it right everytime. However, I couldn't verbally explain the task to him. When giving verbal instruction, he'd look at me in such a perplexed way....it seemed as though I was speaking Chinese and not English. Like many people with autism, Jimmy is a visual learner. In order to keep him engaged when he was little, I drew pictures or use pictures to communicate with him. He taught himself sign languages from a book when he was about five.....another visual tool. He is resourceful in his efforts to communicate with others. His world makes more sense when communication is done visually.
Art has been in my family for nearly 100 years. My grandmother, Edith Fritz Schneeman, was an artist. My uncle, George Scheeman, was an accomplished artist. My sister, Mary Schneeman Waldvogel, was a studio art major and is an accomplished artist. I dabbled in the arts but never had much aptitude. Although, I was pretty good at making up art projects. With five children just five and half years apart in age, art projects were a frequent part of our household. It was a cheap activity that we could all do together. I began to notice that Jimmy, who typically couldn't sit at the table for any activities including meals, liked to paint and work on our projects. I mentioned this to his tutor, Pat Pendelton. Pat liked art projects as well. So, this became an effective part of her teaching style with Jimmy. Pat's friend, artist Krista Walsh, expressed interest in working with a student with autism. Jimmy was a good fit. Krista began coming to our house. Slowly but surely, he responded to Krista's suggestions. He began to delight in his own creations and was proud of his work.
Jimmy has become a passionate artist. He loves what he does. He does what he loves and he is learning all the time. His art is evolving and I can't say that I can see his road ahead. But, I know that he is happy and that joy is seeming to translate into improved health and function for him. So, Life is good when you do something you love.
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