Wednesday, 29 December 2010

• Creating the Uni-Turtle

   
  
  

  My son wishes that he was a uni-turtle, but this was not always the case. There was a time when he was a boy. A beautiful toe-headed boy with blue eyes. Like all boys, he liked to get dirty and play rough. Sometimes he was just too much; too loud, too rowdy and too intense.
  
  Ben loved other kids but he was often misunderstood. At the playground, he would throw sand in the air. He seemed confused as the other kids scattered. I approached. "The other kids do not like that", I said. "
  
  "But they did not say stop" he replied.

  
  
  "True, but they ran away," I explained.
  
  "But they did not say stop" he insisted.
  
  "They left because you were throwing sand at them" I said.
  
  "I was not throwing it at them. I like the way it looks sparkling in the sun's rays" he responded.
  
  This was not the first time I mistakenly prescribed an intent that was not there.
  
  During the school year, Ben was as puzzled with his teachers as they were with him. Sometimes, he would become overwhelmed in class and begin stemming. For him, this meant repeating a monosyllabic sound. This was not appreciated nor understood as a coping mechanism. So he was disciplined and the noises increased. Ben was trying to block out the world and create a safe place for himself behind the sounds. As the anxiety increased, the noises became deafening. We wanted to help him find a place of his own that did not alienate others.
  
  One day his younger brother, Bryant said he wanted to be a scientist who creates his own animal.
  
  "What kind?" I asked.
  
  "A uni-turtle, a magical unicorn with the shell of a turtle." he explained.
  
  "Why does the unicorn need a shell?" I wondered.
  
  "Because sometimes the other animals tease him for being different. The shell protects him from their unkind words. Then the uni-turtle would become a super hero who protects those who are different from all those who are the same" Bryant said.
  
  Thank you for my uni-turtle son. Like the unicorn who possesses innate creativity and soars above the clouds to his own place whose shell protects him from the critical eyes, harsh words and misplaced motives. Let him fly off to his other world until ours is ready to embrace him.
  
  

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