The Bear Minimum

A little boy from London is finally able to communicate with is family, and it’s an uplifting story I thought I’d share.

There’s a diverse range of communication skills in even one room of people. But imagine if your child was completely unable to talk, because he was autistic. How would you know just how much he was listening to, how would you know if he understood you if there was no response from him?

That was what faced the family of Jamie Ponsonby, that is, until his mother Serena, was prompted to start teaching her son to type after reading a book by an autistic woman who could speak, but found it much easier to type instead.

It wasn’t easy, and Jamie was very slow to start with when he was nine years old, and was also took quite some time to show any progress. But now at age thirteen, Jamie is actually typing of his own accord and showing his family that he is in fact aware of what is going on around him, that he has a sense of humour and is creative, that he enjoys travelling, the list is potentially endless, because Jamie can now communicate, permanently, with his family.

Jamie has started writing poetry, giving his family a greater insight into what it’s like to be Jamie, what it’s like to be largely stuck within one’s own mind.

I can only imagine how uplifted his family must be, to know that he’s right there. He’s with them, even if he can’t say so. His mother says that they ask him all sorts of things, and he knows so much more than she’d ever expected. She also says that his confidence and self-esteem have greatly increased with his ability to type. What a wonderful turn for this child.

I know that this sort of thing doesn’t work for all autistic people, or even most, but I’m happy for this one little boy and happy for his family, who now can really get to know Jamie.