Page 31 - Education Supplement_Issue 1_2023

OPINION PIECE

When you visit a school for gifted children, Then there are the obsessive tendencies and ritualistic behavior. Children with HFA
you will be astonished to see how many of are comforted by routine and predictability. As a result, unexpected deviations from
them meet the criteria for high-functioning the plan can seem catastrophic. For example, Monday was red sock day, Tuesday was
autism. Like those with autism, gifted children blue sock day, and so on. So when Monday morning dawned, and we discovered one
have heightened senses and are extremely of his red socks had gone to the big pile of single socks in the sky, it was the end of the
sensitive to sound, light, sensations, and world for him.
other sensory experiences. And because
they are cognitively advanced, they have Children with HFA are also extremely literal and don’t always understand the nuances
difficulty fitting in and interacting with their of figurative language. For example, he was horrified when someone asked if they could
neurotypical peers. ‘pick his brain.’ And the challenges are not limited to verbal language. Understanding
body language, interpreting facial expressions and ‘reading a room’ are almost
The struggle is real impossible. This has made it very challenging to create and maintain friendships.
Children with high-functioning autism tend to
have difficulty regulating their emotions. This As a parent of a child with HFA, I have made it my mission to educate others on the
can lead to extreme emotional reactions that nuances and complex nature of autism. Proper understanding is critical so these
others may consider over the top. But, on the young people have the space to be exactly who they are without apology. In addition,
other hand, they may underreact to situations their mental health needs as much nurturing as the next child – perhaps, even more,
others would find distressful. considering the additional challenges they face, such as rejection and intolerance.

My son, now 18, had many incidents and It’s not what you know. It’s who you know
misunderstandings throughout his childhood. Incidentally, Elon Musk attended the same high school as me. He hated it, and school
When he was six, his beloved grandfather was a miserable time. He was bullied and tormented – even assaulted. Yet the school
died. People were perplexed when he asked wears his alumnus status as a badge of honor. I was reminded of this when chatting
if we would ‘flush grandpa down the toilet.’ It with a friend who moved to the UK recently. Her son also has HFA, and his first day at
sounded callous, but his only experience with school was challenging. She knows my son has also had his fair share of teachers who
death had been with his pet goldfish. didn’t have the patience to understand him.

In high school, a teacher was highly I told her, ‘The irony is that in 20 years, the teachers that gave them the hardest time
offended when he stated that he didn’t feel will sit around their dinner tables, boasting to their guests that they taught our children.
sad when the main character died of cancer
in a book they were studying. Instead, she
thought he was cold and had no empathy
for those who had lost loved ones to cancer
or experienced grief.

She didn’t give him a chance to explain, but
when he explained it to me, he said that he
had lost loved ones in real life, which really
hurt. But he knew the character in the book
was fictional, so he couldn’t grieve for them.
Fair enough, right?

He would also become overwhelmed by too
much sensory input and was often in trouble
for ‘sleeping’ in class. The reality was that to
hear and take in the auditory information,
he would close his eyes to prevent the visual
input from distracting him. And, of course,
as his mother, I was constantly accused of
making excuses for him if I tried to explain
how HFA works.

Because it is not obvious at all. It is so
subtle that if you didn’t know it was
there, you would assume he was just an
oddball with strange habits and some
questionable manners.

Education | February 2023 | 29