That’s where the pixies live.
‘Pixies live in there.’ I said pointing to mossy, leaf covered undergrowth.
‘What, little pig men?’ said my brother.
‘What?’
‘Pig-zees…… What are they then?’
‘Male Faeries’
‘Oh.’
I couldn’t believe I spent the next few minutes explaining what a Pixie looked like and what their role in the eco system was. Bless him. We had been for a walk to show him ‘my view’. With autism he rarely looks around him. He just looks straight in front, so I have to point things out to him all the time. Like teaching a child.
‘What monument?’
He wasn’t really happy about going for a walk.
After a little encouragement, I lent him my boots – he’s got really small feet – and off we went. He wanted to know how far and how long it would take. Walking up to The Burton Pynsent Monument takes about ten minutes from the house, but there would be no standing and being mindful of the view. He doesn’t quite get that part!
For a while he thought it was the Wellington Monument and couldn’t quite work out how we could get there. It confused him even more when I explained on a clear day you could actually see the Wellington Monument in the distance. he didn’t believe me, and although I could see it on the far ridge, he couldn’t.
Lets take a photo!
As we walked away, I asked him to stop so I could get a photo. ‘What for?’ He asked. Explaining that it made a good picture with the monument in the background. He had no perception of that at all. I had to get him to turn around and look. Total surprise!
It’s strange that he can’t really process distance, saying to me in the car on the way home that Great Britain must have lots of roads then? He hasn’t travelled at all, and has no spacial awareness of how vast everything is. He lives in his world of his flat, town, supermarket, and back to the flat.
It makes us realise how much we take for granted.
Even if people haven’t been abroad, most of us are aware of how big the British Isles are. How long it takes to get to London and how wide country roads are. He doesn’t.
It’s always a joy taking him out and showing him something new now that he has the capacity to enjoy it. Today it wasn’t just the walk, it was the way he decided he wanted dessert at lunch and ate the biggest plate of Bakewell Pudding and custard. It had to be custard. He doesn’t like waiting too long after he has chosen from the menu, and he never talks while he is eating. It’s 100% attention to to food.
He’s now been in his new flat for just over three months. He has support from an amazing team from Mencap who ensure that anything that could send him into a spiral, is dealt with efficiently. The difference in him is remarkable. The next step is to find him some voluntary work to get him interacting with other people. Loneliness is a a huge issue for him. That’s this years plan.
