‘I think of my capabilities in relationships and emotions as a computer system. I had always been stuck in MS-DOS, the old operating system. It took me much longer than a normal person to migrate to Windows. It is like when a computer executes commands, and those commands get stuck.’
‘When I learned more about the World, I found a way to solve the problem. I managed to get Windows to start. It was a new operating system. It started very late, and there was some data corruption, but it did start.’
‘There was a particular program that I had a lot of trouble running. This was the “empathy” program in my personality core. I resolved that too, to a certain extent, with time.’
The King has spent a lot of time in his life learning how humans work, in his own words. He has overcome the biggest obstacles, but is still learning. He admits that he does not have enough experience to know as much as he needs to. But conducting his own Research helps him learn.
‘Most parents feel that the most important thing for their child is to stop their tantrums, and build their academic life,’ said he. ‘It is all mostly about the school experience. They forget about everything else.’
I asked the King what he would tell people now. He thought about it for some time.
Finally he said, ‘People should allow the child to have ideals and dreams. Then help them to achieve them by practical means.’
To this, I thought, one would think that the solution would be to simply get the child to have practical dreams. But dreams are rarely practical, even for regular people.
This King’s name is Eric and he is a writer like I am, except that he has autism. He has written three books – “Star Child on Earth”, “Mirror Mind” and “Autism and Self-Improvement”.
I have an autographed copy of “Star Child on Earth”. It is signed and dated on the inside cover, where he has written: “All the Best to Your New Book.”
Chapter 11
The Queen Moves Across
The Board
The 1st Step
In a game of chess, the queen moves all across the chessboard. Now, if your opponent succeeds in stopping your queen, the game is over.
I shall tell you the tale of the queen and her moves on the chessboard.
Now, when a person needs help, it is very important to call the right people. If you were accidentally locked out of your house with no spare keys and called for an ambulance, you had better hope one of the medics used to be a burglar.
But sometimes it is not so simple. The right people are not always easy to reach.
Some years back when Jan was asking to return to school, my mother had called Pathlight School to enquire about a placement for him. She was told they could not accept him as the school was for those pursuing the mainstream curriculum. It was just another rejection from a small number of possible schools to call, and so she moved on to the next one on her list.
We once contacted the Autism Resource Centre for assistance. The receptionist on the other end of the line might have been having a bad day, and not been in the mood to be polite to strangers. We got the impression that maybe it had not been such a clever idea to begin with.
After lots of other phone calls, we got tired and adjourned for tea and biscuits permanently.
As you can see, dear Reader, it is far too easy to be a skeptic.
I was a nasty resentful elf of a skeptic once, especially during my late teenage years. Flowers and plants would shrivel and wither and crumble to the ground when I walked past. Believe me, I was the foulest of skeptics and angriest of critics. Everything in the world was wrong and needed fixing. And I thought there were people out there who should be doing the fixing.
Then I began to learn that a life will not be changed in any way unless someone acts to change it. Sometimes, we need to help the people helping us. (I do not, however, believe that this excuses complacency and being lackadaisical when helping people.)
As time passed, I began hoping for change in a good way. I wanted to fight for special needs, but not with anger. There comes a point in time when one tires of negativity. Why not fight with humour or good cheer? Imagine two gladiators of old facing off with shields and swords. One of them tells an excellent joke, and his opponent, without even drawing his sword, is felled by laughter. They might even end up being good friends after that.
The changes in the way I thought and saw things made me stop calling the ambulance for my locked door. I realised I didn’t need an ambulance. Instead, I found a locksmith.
I had the good fortune to meet Denise Phua, President of the Autism Resource Centre Singapore (ARC) which started Pathlight School. Denise also volunteers in Autism Association Singapore (AAS) which started Singapore Autism School (later renamed Eden School). She supervises both Pathlight School and Eden School. You may know her as a Member of Parliament for the Moulmein-Kallang GRC. Most important of all, she is the stout-hearted and spirited mother of a sixteen-year-old son with autism.
Are all these names unfamiliar to you? It is alright. Let me spin you a tale.
It all began with a lady, one of many, who gave birth to a son. He was soon diagnosed with autism. The lady was grieved when it happened, and she fell asleep like Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Only unlike Alice, her dream was a nightmare.
The mother met others like her, more and more of them,
