Can you hear him? I sure
can!
He doesn't know the meaning of quiet. He is always
repeating himself, and forever asking questions.
Always the same questions!! He is constantly waving
his arms, shaking, yelling and sometimes talking
in a language only he can understand.
But, what Brian loves to do is watch T.V.; Wheel
of Fortune, Jeopardy and Price is Right are his
favourites. Lots of colour and action involved there!!
He also loves swimming, Thomas the tank engine,
and reading books, (he has hundreds of them!) and
take-out food. Of course, we mean the Golden Arches,
pizza, and Chinese food.
At home, he loves to eat spaghetti and meatballs,
(no cheese), hamburgers, rice, cereal, peanut butter,
milk, potato chips, Caesar salad with croutons,
and chicken fingers. Did I mention chicken fingers?
He always wants chicken fingers, and heaven forbid
if you forget the ketchup!
The most impressive thing he can do is that he knows
every single word and every single action to every
single Disney cartoon movie.
I'm not making fun of him, because he is my brother
and this is him, as I know and love him! He is definitely
not weird, odd or stupid, and you should NOT be
afraid of him. What Brian is, is…Autistic.
Autism is a disorder that impairs development of
a person's ability to communicate and interact with
other people and maintain normal eye contact with
the outside world. You can't catch it like the cold
or the flu; this is something you are born with.
He was 3 ½ in Junior Kindergarten, when he
was diagnosed with this disability. It affects about
1 out of every 10,000 children and is more common
in males than in females.
Autistic children have difficulties with language,
some never learning to speak, or developing very
limited speech. Unfortunately, children with autism
play alone. Brian is very lucky to have children
that like to be around him. Sometimes he doesn't,
but that's OK, too. Because all the kids in his
class, right now, grade 7, have grown up with him
and treat him with respect and understanding. They
know what he's all about. He has had amazing teachers,
which have helped also with his adjusting to each
new school year.
Autistic children do NOT like change and have a
very hard time coping with even minor changes in
their surroundings and daily routines. That is a
big one with Brian though, routine. Everything has
to be the same way; same breakfast, same lunch,
same dinner, drive to a certain place the exact
same way, and always has to know WHERE we are going???
There is no cure or actual treatment for autism.
What we know in our family is, that we take every
single day as it comes, and he is included in everything
we do, (even if he doesn't like it). That means
going to the same school that we do and by observing
what you and I do everyday, he is learning by observation.
Modeling, as the professionals call it, is how he
learned to speak. The occasional hug goes a LONGGGGGGG
way too!!
Just look into his eyes and he is the closest thing
to God, you will ever see. Because Brian, my brother,
is an Angel, and he is whispering in my ear, I Love
You!!
By Victoria Piccini
2001-Grade 4-Miss DiSilvestre
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