Sometimes it's very hard to explain Kevin's abilities to people. On the outside they see a 19 year old young man that doesn't talk very much, unless you're trying to take a nap. It's even harder to explain to people that he is at times very aware of what you are saying or doing. Often it's not the words, but the way you represent yourself. Recently I had a problem on the school bus with the assistant wanting to block him from standing up in the aisle before the bus stopped. I completely understand why she was doing it, but it was the way she was doing it that was causing the problem. To him she was bullying him and he flat out told her to get out of his way. The last thing I want is for my son to be rude to people, but I can understand why he reacted the way he did. When the assistant told me that I need to have a talk with my son about staying in his sit I explained to her that I do that almost every time he gets off the bus, because I'm watching him as the bus approaches. I suggested they take another approach by asking him to wait. I also asked his teacher to help with explaining to them how Kevin reacts to the way people approach him and to see if she can help find a better solution for them. I thought it was a wise choice asking for her help, because she gets to spend more time with them at school than I do here at the bus stop. How she approached them was to explain that Kevin has an intelligent score of 110. What she was trying to do was make them realize that Kevin had no mental retardation and most likely takes in a lot around him. She wanted them to treat him with respect and they have been since she talked to them. Now they seem to be in awe of my son. Why wouldn't they after hearing he has an intelligent score of 110. The average score for most of us is between 90-109 or something like that. You can google it if you want to. LOL Well, the problem with telling them this is first that test was done back in the 5th grade and it was a non-verbal test. Kevin is now in the 12th grade and was tested not to long ago on another type of test to show where he stands age wise and grade wise. This was the Woodcock-Johnson III and the one that was done back in 5th grade was the Lieter Scale. The WJ III test showed that he falls in the grade range of 1st grade and the age level is between 6 to 7 yrs old, which I believe shows the true Kevin. So, now the people on the bus love Kevin and we have a new problem. On Halloween they thought it would be nice to pass out candy and Kevin walked off the bus with an empty wrapper for Peanut M&M candy. I was floored to say the least. Dairy impedes Kevin from focusing. I had a feeling that someone on the bus gave it to him, because his teacher fully understands his diet and supports it all the way. So, I stopped Kevin in the middle of the yard knowing that they were watching us as they pulled away. I held up the wrapper and asked Kevin if he ate it. I held it up so they could see what I was doing. Over my shoulder I could hear the bus stopping and a window coming down. The assistant called out to me "Can he not have Chocolate?" I called back NO, No Dairy of any kind. They said they were sorry and I'm sure we'll have a conversation about it come Monday. I called his teacher to tell her about what happened and once again she will talk to them while they are loading the kids at school. I have 2 ID tags on Kevin. One is from the school and the other is one I made last year with my phone number and my brother's phone number, along with an explanation that he's Autistic and his can't have Wheat, Rye, Barley or Dairy. What amazed me was they gave someone PEANUTS. OK, I'm not going to get rude here. They meant well and were enjoying the Halloween Holiday. It sadden me that I had to stop my son in the yard like that and ask him if he ate the candy. It's not his fault that if you hand him something to eat he"ll eat it. Ok, some stuff he'll gag while he's eating it, but he'll still take it. My point is my son has feelings no matter how he's scored on any test. The last thing I want to do is make him feel like I'm scolding him for something that in truth he did naturally.
On a much lighter note. Speaking of my sons feeling he and his friend from last year have been able to see and spend time together at a couple of Special Olympic Events already this year. The first time they saw each other his teacher said they gave each other a great big hug. Big smile when I think of that. At the last event they ate their lunch together. She was sitting by herself and Kevin's teacher asked Kevin if he wanted to join her. Kevin scooped up his lunch and ran right over to where she was sitting. They are so cute together and it thrills me that my son has formed a friendship with someone outside of the family. Aren't they cute?
