Majestic Crashes, by Daniel

Today I asked Daniel if he would like to write a piece of fiction.  He responded that "books have more words than I can type."  I told him that I had no doubt he could write a book but why not just start with a short story.  Without hesitation, he began to type.  

When typing first started to click for Daniel -- when it REALLY started to click -- it quickly became apparent that my son has a beautiful mind.  Every day brought surprises. Somewhere along the way, I stopped being surprised, but I never stop being amazed. 

This is my son's first piece of fiction:

Majestic Crashes 

Little asteroids crash to the ground.  The animals scurry to safety.  In the very chaotic scene a dark cloud begins to cover the Earth.  Life must now no longer harbor disease or disability.  Mankind must be fair and make peace.  Just born babies should be without disabilities and disease.  Justice is not a concept but a reality.  Life is better because the asteroids from heaven begin to frighten the dark forces of the world.  Stars illuminate the night sky beyond description.  God leans down from the clouds and his voice echoes from the mountains.  He finds the sick and heals them.  He finds the blind and gives them sight. He gives voices to those who cannot speak and hearing to those with no sound.  He gives strength to those whose bodies are hampered by frailty and weakness.  God comes to the world and morning brings a new day.  

My Thoughts on School, By Daniel

Growing up, I needed to tell teachers that I was doing work that was too easy.  School was really frustrating for me.  Right around kindergarten, I started to feel left out.  Kids going to my school sometimes forgot to talk to me.  Maybe they thought I didn't want them to talk to me, but I wanted it very much.

Starting in the first grade, I went to Journey.  I liked it there.  Going to Journey was the best year of elementary because the teachers didn't treat me like some little baby.  I found Journey to be a safe and happy school.  I sincerely liked my teachers there.  Kids so much tried to work hard for them.  I always had interesting work to do, like working on their computer, and singing songs.  I very much missed Journey.

In second grade, I had some good friends. They have probably not missed me but I miss them. My homeroom teacher was good to me.  She was so motherly.  I probably liked the second grade best after Journey.  The kids still talked to me.

The third grade just started going downhill.  I just needed to learn, but everything was too easy.  I started to hate school.  The truth is that I hated being there so much that I would not do what they asked.  Like my teacher would give me only easy matching sheets, and I thought this is ridiculous.  I wanted to learn math.

In fourth grade, I liked my homeroom teacher very much.  Just going to school really made me so miserable.  Kids would not talk to me.  I had terrific aides.  They were so patient.  Going to school though so made me very sad.  Just the same boring stuff was given to me every day.

In fifth grade, I went to a new school.  It was just kind of the same thing.  My teacher was very nice and dedicated.  Her class was for kids with autism.  My parents hoped I might get the help I needed but they just kept doing the same boring stuff. Life was awful.

My parents then decided to put me in a private school.  Just so much bad stuff happened there that I was relieved when my mom took me out. I hated it.

My parents then put me back in public school and I started at middle school.  My first thought was that going to middle school would be really exciting.  Life had to get better.  My teachers were nice but just being there was awful.  Kids made fun of me. Kids just laughed at me.  My only friend was Gabe. Gabe treated me with kindness and showered me with attention.

Kids should be more like Gabe.

Hardly nothing changed in the classroom.  I felt so hopeless. Nobody believed in me.  My mom started teaching me to type.  She told my teachers how I could spell.  I don't think they believed her because they didn't try to teach me typing. When my mom took me out of school it was so great.  Her decision to home school me changed my life.  Now I have hope for my future. Life is so much happier.  Knowing that I don't have to go back to middle school makes me so very happy.

Kids like me just need a way to communicate.  It needs to be the most important thing a teacher does. My teachers did not think I could do it, but I can.  

Mom's Note: Daniel chose the subject matter for this--his second post. I believe that when a person goes 14 years without a voice, he should be free to express his thoughts exactly as he wants to.  I have plenty of my own thoughts with respect to the failures of our school district.  One of the most significant is that I truly believe there were many kids in his class who would have liked to befriend Daniel, but they needed the assistance of an adult to make that happen.  I wish that our school district had been committed to ensuring meaningful inclusion for my son.  But it was not.  

(Journey refers to Journey Learning Center in Grapevine, TX.)

Daniel's First Chapter

I have never been at a loss for words.

Until recently.  

Trying to describe what is happening in my son's life--in our lives--is not easy for me.  How can you describe the single most beautiful, fascinating thing you ever have witnessed?

Today, Daniel became the writer.

And here is what he wants the world to know--at least for starters. Every word, every sentence--even every comma--all his.  

I am sharing with his permission.  As he told me, he was nervous about it, but "I want you to post it for all the kids like me.  You can tell their parents to believe in their children."  

Here is the first chapter of Daniel's story, in his own words:

I realized that I am different way back when I was little.  I knew I couldn't say what I needed to.  I remember one time my mom kept trying to get me to say cookie.  She was holding a cookie and kept asking me to say the word.  I thought that she seemed like it was so important that I say it.  Her face just seemed so sad.  I wanted to tell her that I just very much would like to say the word so badly.

Going to my grandparents' house, I always wanted to tell them how happy I was to see them. I wanted to let them know how much I loved them.

I thought that maybe one day I would wake up and the words would come out.  Often I would have just little sounds like parts of a word.  I expected to be able to one day get whole words to come out, but it never happened.  I thought I would never be able to do what I needed to make the parts of my mouth cooperate.  The words were in my head.  My parents so much wanted to know what I was thinking.

Every time that I tried to say that I understood my parents I got so frustrated.  I heard every thing they said and understood all of what they were saying. They were not really sure just how much I understood.  They have always tried to help me be happy but I was really miserable.  

I so much kept on hoping that I one day would be able to make them know that I am understanding and I am smart.  

I don't know what I would have done if I had to go through life every day without any words.  I would have lost the true desire to live.  I would have been trapped in only my head and then I think I would have lost my mind.  The world would have remained the same monotonous place and I think I would have given up on ever being able to talk to anyone.  

People have underestimated me.  Like at school, people treated me like I was a little kid.  People would assume that I was like a baby.  They even laughed at me like I would not know they were making fun of me.  Teachers thought I was so easily entertained.  Day after day, I wanted to learn but nobody would teach me.  

I am so glad my mother took me out of school.  I am just making so much progress with typing.  I am going to get to pursue a good education and a new life.  Just the knowledge that my family understands I am listening is so wonderful.  

Life is just harder and really frustrating when you have autism.  I wish the world would understand that people with autism just want to have friends.