Balls, blurriness,the Prime Minister and poverty

Have you ever wondered how the mind of a person with autism works?


I do. As I daily interact with students who have autism, I am in awe and fascinated by their incredible minds. Sure, they may not respond in the way we want them to or expect them to. However, I am learning they have much to teach us. I think their brain may look like this blurred picture as they function day to day. ( By the way, that is my little plug for this week's Thematic Photographic over at Carmi's blog!) Yet, there is a clarity that makes sense to them. We just have to tap into their colourful ways and learn how to communicate with each other that may require us to "think outside the box."
And,

that may require us to have a great deal of patience and a broad sense of humour. Take for example yesterday... I was assigned to work in the special ed class for the afternoon as the regular EA was at the Track and Field competition. My assignment was "P", the boy that used to say the "F" word every few minutes and the one that used it creatively in unexpected places! (Here he is...the infamous "P", enjoying the Terry Fox Run in September at our school.)

The students were sitting quietly , believe it or not, in a circle listening to a story. My job was to keep an eye on "P." All of a sudden, "P" reached over to the boy beside him and looked as though he was about to grab this boy's private area. Immediately, I gave "P" the glare! In my mind I was thinking "surely he isn't about to do what I think he is going to do...surely this is all innocent...surely he has no idea ..."

Always trust your gut! "P" actually stopped what he was doing, looked me in the eye, gave me a coy smile and said, "No breaking balls."

Oh my goodness, he knew EXACTLY what he was doing and saying!! I was cracking up inside! He is hilarious but totally inappropriate! I do have to give him credit for correcting himself. This was "P"'s way of communicating to me that he knows he was inappropriate. He immediately turned around and continued to listen to the story!

His world isn't a blur is it?:) As you see, a sense of humour is a requirement in this job!

On Tuesday October 14, 2008, Stephen Harper was re-elected as our Prime Minister of Canada. I exercised my right to vote, however only 51% of Canadians turned out to vote. I hope our leaders on Parliament Hill will stand up and take notice as to why only 51% of our population voted - the lowest turnout in years. We still have a minority government. Harper's Conservatives were only 12 seats short of forming a majority government. What a waste of taxpayers money. This election was not necessary. ( For those of you not familiar with Canadian government...The Prime Minister can make the choice to call an election before his term is up...a political move to try to get a majority government so his government can pass more bills, etc. ) Well, we will see what will transpire in the next few years. Here's to hoping the Conservatives will make a difference.

Today many bloggers around the world are raising awareness for the issue of poverty that is affecting all our societies. It is time we took part in the solution, whatever that may be. My bloggy friend at Awareness has written a powerful piece about how poverty affects her world. Read her story here. Another good read is here.

I wrote about poverty affecting my hometown here.

I have so many thoughts about this issue. I feel as Christians we should be taking more of a stand. The church is not doing enough. Jesus strongly urges us to help the poor, orphans and widows. ( You can read the many passages in the Bible that address poverty, such as Luke 12:33, Luke 18:22, Luke 21, John 12:5, Acts 9:36, Acts 10:5, James 2:2, etc.)

I need to be doing my part as well. I will pray that God will show me how and I pray I will have the courage to get out of my comfort zone and make a difference. I am challenged by the verses that tell us to "sell our possessions and give to the poor." I wonder what would happen if we all lived by that philosophy.

My parents recently attended a "Newfie dinner" (corned beef, cabbage, dumplings, drawn butter, boiled potatoes, carrots and turnip) at the Salvation Army in Peterborough. What my parents didn't realize was it was a fundraiser for a family in this congregation who was in dire financial need due to terminal illness affecting the father. This small congregation raised over $6000 to help this family. They were deeply moved by the generosity of everyone. My parents and I were touched as well. This small act of self sacrifice is one way we can live out the message of Jesus. It is one way we can share Jesus to our world.

What can you do in your world to help the poor?

(Downtown Oshawa, Ontario, July 2008)


Together, armed with compassion, let us "make poverty history!"

"When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)