This past weekend at the family reunion, I got to spend some quality time with my cousin Jason, who happens to be autistic. After Nick took him on a boat ride (which he absolutely loved) we relaxed inside for a bit, and hung out during part of the auction sale (at which my hand crafted cards sold for $20 and the stepping stone sold for $85). It was at this point I got to see some of his artwork. To give you a quick view on him, he is currently 14 years old, has a hard time making eye contact, and is very high energy. When speaking to him, there is very little verbal communication, except a few repetitive phrases he uses, and words he repeats when you say them. No one was ever really sure when he would be potty trained, how he would do in school, whether or not he would catch on or not, because everything in his world is completely different than in ours. Yet, this kid is a genius.
He has this large sketch pad that he takes with him when he leaves home, and I got to see some of his drawings. He draws these particular ones over and over, but also does words like barn, tractor, donkey, and many more. I honestly dont think i'd be able to draw up any word to match its meaning, let alone something as simple as "DOG". He continues to master them day after day, and come up with new ones.
I love this little man with all my heart, and this past weekend, he made me so proud!
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