In my regular typing sessions with my friend Nick, some topics are repeated often. He has warned us of bad times ahead, and reassured us that in the end all will be well because love is the answer. He types about freedom, knowledge, understanding, and treasures. Recently he was focused on the continuing dangers of the Covid virus. JUST KNOW GREAT DANGERS ARE AHEAD. . . HELP PEOPLE ABOUT TO DIE. THEY WILL DIE OF COVID. UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP IT. . . . KNOWLEDGE IS COMING . . . WE NEED TO LISTEN TO GREAT MINDS. NEED MORE PEOPLE DOING BETTER RESEARCH.
And then he veered off in a different direction, reminding me once again that I have stories that need to be told, and that there are many people who need to hear them. Often when we ask Nick to be more specific, we are disappointed. He tends to speak (type) in generalities that leave us wondering what else he really knows and isn't ready to share. This time he was quite clear: LOOK INTO TELLING YOUR *LESLEY* STORY. LESLEY NEEDS YOU. SHE NEEDS YOU TO BE NEAR BOTH OF US.
He caught me off-guard, and at the same time forced me to give the matter some serious thought. It wasn't the first time that Nick had mentioned Lesley by name, and it certainly wasn't the first time he had begged me to tell my stories. I have to admit that I thought I actually HAD shared at least some of Lesley's story in this blog at some point, but of course Nick was more accurate on this one.
So I spoke some of my thoughts out loud, explaining that I have not been in contact with Lesley for close to 20 years now. She was a former student of mine, and for some time after our school placements caused us to be separated, we continued to meet regularly for our FC typing sessions. She certainly was one of my more prolific Esther kids with lots to say, and I have missed her greatly over the years. I didn't really need to say all this, because Nick had let me know a few years ago that he knows Lesley - even though they have never met in person, and have never even lived in the same community. They are connected only through me as their communication partner, and the interactions I have had with them are separated by about two decades.
Naturally, I asked Nick if he was somehow in contact with Lesley and he answered without hesitation: WE TALK ALL THE TIME. BELIEVE ME PLEASE. . . MORE PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR OUR STORIES . . . HELP ME TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO BELIEVE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE VERY GIFTED.
Lesley and I talked a lot about writing a book back in those days, and I still have hopes of that becoming a reality. I won't be sharing all of her story here, but rather a few of the highlights.
The label for my classroom at the time was CDS - "Cognitively Disabled-Severe" - which was supposed to be a nicer version of Severely Mentally Retarded. We were a pioneer group in our area, as the idea of mainstreaming was just catching on, and this particular group was being moved from a segregated "special" school into a classroom in a regular school. It was an interesting mixture of kids, having one thing in common - a very low score on the standard IQ test.
As far I know, Lesley was never given the diagnosis of autism, but rather had some sort of genetic or chromosomal difference that set her apart and caused her to have a variety of motor problems, including little or no spoken language. There is the possibility that selective mutism might have been more accurate since I was told by the family that she really DID speak at home.
Working toward as much inclusion in the regular classes as possible was easy in Lesley's case. The teachers were all cooperative and eager to make her feel welcome, even though she didn't ever speak or write in class, and Lesley went along willingly to all special classes and most academic ones as well. Other than her strikingly slow movement through the halls, there was certainly nothing resembling a behavior problem that any of us had to deal with.
But the same couldn't be said for others in my classroom. Most of the other students required a lot of attention from me, and as a result it took some time before I was able to help Lesley learn to use typing as a means of communication. It was a natural fit for her, and she almost immediately chose to use the method as much as she could to do academic work in the regular classroom, with her very dedicated mother serving as her aide and facilitator. She was all too aware that she had been placed in a grade that did not match her chronological age (SORRY! We were making an incorrect assumption that a lower level of academics was a better fit. Lesson to be learned here - Always presume competence!)
Much to her delight, and thanks to her persistence on the matter, the very next year Lesley was allowed to "skip" a full grade and move on to an inclusive setting with other kids her age, and a paraprofessional assigned to help with communication and all academic work. As an aside here, the special ed director walked out of the meeting where this decision was made - never did win her over as a believer in FC!
After this "promotion" Lesley was no longer a part of my classroom or caseload, but we continued to meet for typing sessions for a long time afterward. And that is when the real fun began. Just a few nuggets that I have saved over the years:
I REMEMBER BEING A GIRL WHO FELT SO ALONE AND NEVER LISTENED TO BY GROWNUPS.
I REMEMBER JUST FROM LITTLE ON THAT PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS RETARDED AND DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY LIFE AS A LOST SOUL. PLEASE LISTEN TO ME AND HEAR WHAT I AM SAYING.
EVERYONE THINKS I AM REALLY CRAZY BUT I KNOW YOU UNDERSTAND. I MAY BE KIND OF AN ANGEL, HEARING SOME MORE MESSAGES FROM GOD.
I
REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR MISSION
Lesley introduced me to the reality that she (and some of the other kids as well) could not only read my mind, but could also communicate with others in our classroom without ever speaking. She had the additional ability to know what kids in other settings might be experiencing and would regularly alert me when one of them might be needing some extra support or help - much in the same way Nick has recently told me that Lesley herself could use some assistance. In Lesley's case, these other kids were not in our school and did not even live in the same town. Once again, the only connection they seemed to have was that I was their primary communication partner.
Serving as a medium of sorts, Lesley shared messages from my deceased parents, correctly making reference to real-life situations in my extended family. She knew what books I was reading at home, and claimed that she and the other Esther kids were usually responsible for helping me find just the right book at the right time.
This is just a glimpse of who this amazing young lady was and what she meant to my life. There will be more - and some day she will have that book I promised her many years ago. Stay tuned.
*Not her real name. Because we aren't in regular contact, I feel obligated to respect her privacy for now. Nick, on the other hand, clearly wants his story shared far and wide, and he has consistently used her actual name when writing about "Lesley."
For more of my Esther story, visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Autismdoorwaytoconsciousness/posts/2383048285092956
Or - visit a recent blog posting. https://grandmacharslessonslearned.blogspot.com/
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