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About preoccupations or stimulatory behaviors in autism
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Many parents report about passionate hobbies or preoccupations that comprise the daily activities of their children with autism. While the routine of trains and their schedules may fascinate one child, the art of cartoons dazzle another. The notion of poisonous plants invade one boy's space, while the truth or dare in science fiction embraces another.
The lists are endless but families buy into the hobby as a way to connect and engage, while worrying about obsessions too fierce to sabotage. This is a story of a young man, who settled on vintage music, an innocent choice, but far from the genre of his peers.
One night, as his parents began to doze, Paul ran into the room: "It's the Johnny Mercer story, on cable...tape it please, I missed the whole thing". His mother cleared the sleep from her eyes, hardly cognizant of the enabler in her tread, reaching for the remote to tape a Johnny Mercer retrospective at 1 AM.
Proud of her son's interest in vintage song, she shucked the recrimination and surfed the channels. What's the preoccupation with Johnny Mercer, she thought....and then, without hesitation the melodies rang true. "Moon River...wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style...some day. Oh dream maker, you heart breaker where ever you're going , I'm going your way Two drifters, off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see....we're after the same rainbow's end.... waiting round the bend....my huckleberry friend...moon river and me.
We are drifters Paul's mother reflected. Pioneers in autism. Waiting round the bend, for awareness, for cure, for answers. Oh yes, we are dreamers, sometimes with broken hearts, yet never alone.
Moon River
