Distance Share

Truth is outside all patterns.

Obey the principles, but do not be bound by them.

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.

Three Quotes by Bruce Lee

With young children, it’s important to honor the brief attention span.  With autistics, one impression I get is that the attention span is kaleidoscopic.  Be aware of receptiveness and energy levels. There are times when you just reschedule.  Small ones, especially those with ASD, do not always rest on schedule.  When tired, they require rest, not lengthy instruction.  Plan instruction in appropriate bits and snippets.  Or forget planning.  Be spontaneous.  Go with the child’s flow.  Entrain to the child’s vibration and raise gradually as appropriate.

Early yesterday morning, I enjoy a brief, unexpected visit with B and his mom.  She has been rarely accepting of Reiki from me in the past.  She doesn’t oppose it, she just has some difficulty accepting or believing it.  Not surprisingly, she readily allows me to work with B.  She knows I’m completely harmless. 🙂

At the outset, my thought is to do sessions with him, in-person and distance sessions.  This quickly shifts as it becomes evident that he would benefit optimally from a different process.  I am a bit reluctant, making no changes for a while, using Reiki with him briefly and only occasionally, observing for improvement, progress, etc.

There is a day when he is so relaxed during a session, he falls asleep.  These hands move of their own volition.  B is attuned to Level I.  His necessary process has begun.

Within days, B begins speaking spontaneously, in full sentences and paragraphs, delighted with his newfound ability to participate in interactive conversation for the first time in his life.  Everyone who knows him and works with him assumes this has happened spontaneously, for no reason.  I see no reason to enlighten them further.

When B was newborn, he came home to a stressed-out, sickly, single mom and one grandparent.  That was his family unit.  Due to unavoidable changes, moves and stressors, as his family situation became unstable, B began to lose ground, especially with efforts to verbalize and potty train.  Frustrated when his attempts to communicate with others were not understood, he retreated into silence.

B appears intolerant of lactose and gluten, as well as sensitive to tobacco smoke.  Observing his progression from simple head-butting to full blown, running start, self-catapulting into walls, 30 – 50 times and more, as hard as he can go, I agree to work with him.

Cautious to a fault, I watch him.  Assessment must be accurate. Each person is unique.  Each process must be unique as well, and appropriate to that person’s physical form.  Like a fingerprint, like a snowflake, he is one-of-a-kind.  No standardization here.  There is  a path perfect for B.  I intend to help him walk it.

Perfect urinary and fecal continence quickly follow verbalization. In three hours, B is completely potty trained! After numerous embarrassments throughout his life, now he swaggers with complete confidence.  Mom welcomes increasing periods of relaxation, something she has not experienced since the beginning of her pregnancy with B.

B begins to dress himself, everything in its proper order and place, shoes on the correct feet.  He begins to get simple foods for himself, cereal with milk, bananas and Hershey bars, etc., without help.  All this is immensely gratifying for everyone involved.

Mom goes for a regular physical.  Her doctor tells her that her blood pressure, cholesterol levels, kidney and liver functions are off the charts; she begs out of admission to the hospital.  There is no one to watch B.  He cannot be left alone.  Mom feels stressed now with the necessity of bringing all those numbers back to normal.  I offer Reiki.  She declines.

Yesterday, I go with her and B for her labs.  We have no teddy bear with us.  It’s hands, then.  A position that is natural for him.  I hold my hands in prayer position, hands apart.  “B, put your hands together.  What do you feel?”  He feels something; recognition registers on his face.

“Do you feel that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s energy.  Pull Mommy into your hands.”

Eyes light.  Comprehension in the facial expression.  He has her.

“Pull out Mommy’s owhees and throw them away.”  I demonstrate the hand motion.

His version is simpler, more concise.  Three hand motions.  His distance is done in a flash.  He knows the instant it’s complete and releases. The look on his face is priceless.  He knows exactly what just happened and pops his sucker back into his mouth as he gazes at leaves blowing gently on a nearby tree, letting it all sink in.

I release as well.  I tell him that he can work on anyone, anything & everything this very same way.  Including himself and his bird and squirrel friends.  He turns to make eye contact with me, grabs my hand and brings it to his cheek. Mission accomplished.  Session complete.

Mom enjoys a restful, pleasant day, free of stress and physical discomfort.

B is five years old, diagnosed with autism at three.  He is larger than many eight year olds.  Sometimes he wears a T-shirt that says, “I am a person with autism.  Please be patient with me.”  B is the patient one.

Due to confidentiality and respect for all clients, very little personal information is included here.  I’m uncertain whether this will even be posted; it won’t happen without Mom’s permission.  Anyway, it’s written documentation of the tiniest fraction of the work that’s possible with disabled children.

Please understand.  If any of this blog’s readers are inclined in any way whatsoever to work with disabled children, much of this work is not recompensed monetarily.  Many parents of disabled children are single, not by choice, but because the other parent chooses out, refusing to be involved.  Funds for daily living are often sparse, and that’s putting it tactfully.  For anyone choosing this incredibly gratifying type of practice, prepare to give freely.  The rewards are beyond anything I ever imagined.

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Permission granted!  Yeehah!

B’s mom just gave me permission to use his full name.

I’ll stick with the policy of changing names to protect the innocent.

Blessings and love to you!

Until next post, Namaste.