by Kaylee Collins

Created on: March 20, 2007   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

"G' says guh'."

Jesse takes his time finding the corresponding flashcard among the eight cards on the round, glass table. Slowly, reassuring himself he is choosing the correct card, he brushes his fingers along the white laminated card with a black letter "g" on it.

He picks it up and hands it to Carrie, his teacher, who has her eyes closed and her hands out waiting for Jesse to give her his answer. She opens her eyes and praises Jesse for picking the right card.

For most four-year-olds this would be an easy task, but Jesse isn't just any four-year-old. Jesse is autistic.

He looks like any other boy his age; his brown hair is neither parted nor slicked back, and his brown eyes stare at the unfamiliar. He wears a maroon, long-sleeved shirt with a few buttons near the neck, three of which are unbuttoned. His navy sweatpants edge over the bottom of his ankles, one pant leg covering the top of his sneaker and the other leading to a bright white sock.

He has already kicked off one of his Velcro shoes.

"G' says guh'," Carrie repeats.

"Guh," Jesse imitates with a bright smile on his face, revealing the dimple in his left cheek.

His small body sits on the edge of the kitchen chair, and his legs swing back and forth. The two of them clap and cheer after saying "guh" a few more times.

Unlike most children his age, Jesse finds comfort in staring out the window and banging his hands on the windowsill for periods of time. He jumps up and down often, and he makes clicking noises. He doesn't speak, and until recently, he didn't make much eye contact.

Because Jesse has autism, he does not mentally develop at the same rate as other young children, and like many people with autism, Jesse lacks "normal" social skills. It is human nature for babies and small children to seek out other children and adults to learn from through imitation. Most autistic children, including Jesse, lack the ability to do so.

But Carrie says Jesse is getting better with this concept since beginning a new program, which focuses primarily on interaction with others and breaking routines.

*

Carrie walks around her apartment gathering three small, woven trashcans. She empties them of their contents and brings them to the living room of her apartment, where she sets them up as three points of a diamond using her self as the fourth point.

She has a small shopping bag containing foam letters and small primary-colored balls. "Show me you're ready," she says to Jesse, who is still winding down from the piggyback ride she

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