Where to begin?

This week started with a huge surprise:

Danny.

Danny is twelve, from Minnesota, around 5'0" and wears glasses. Danny loves to swim, read, and watch movies. Danny is also autistic.

Danny and I have been working together one on one during the mornings for the past 7 days. This week has been such a roller coaster. It was so difficult for me the first two days to figure out what Danny's characteristics were and how to correctly redirect him and encourage him to participate in the group activities.

During my initial debrief with his parents, they told me that Danny has the mental capacity of a 7 year old.

I think that is bull.

Danny is SO intelligent.

He has the capacity to quote entire movies word for word with correct tone and impersonations... after only ONE viewing. What an insane brain must lie in there.

He continued to surprise me throughout the week. While watching a veggie tales video, he commented,

"The Tomato went Splooooishh."

I asked him how he would spell "Sploooish," and he rattled it off instantly, the exact way I spelled it above. Come to find out, he is a phenomenal speller and reader. So much so that he was reading the Polynesian number signs on the putt putt course with flawless pronunciation.

Did I mention that he got 3 hole-in-ones on the golf course all by himself this week?

Danny did have one very large meltdown with me this week when he attempted to climb the rock wall. It was so hard to stand eye to eye with him and have him scream and kick at me. The patience of the Lord filled me, that is for sure. After his Dad and I calmed him down, we decided that watching a movie would be good. He sat and watched while I sat a few feet behind him and cried.

The Lord is good and has a purpose for the experience that I have had this week. I cannot wait to discover what it is.