On Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:44:43 -0500, Kathleen
wrote:


I subbed in an Advanced Musical Theory class a few weeks back and there
were a handful of students who were definitely on the spectrum. A
couple were pretty far along, too. The worst was a boy, maybe 17, who
was apparently incapable of interacting with others on anything like a
normal basis outside of his music.

When he wasn't actually playing, he would walk over and stand and look
at me. Not the way a young man might check out an interesting female,
not the way a student might assess a new teacher, but the way you might
look at, I don't know, a painting, or a lamp or maybe an interesting
boulder that suddenly appeared in your environment. He actually walked
a circle around me, maintaining a distance of maybe 30". Too close for
my comfort so I kept turning to keep an eye on him. I asked him to
return to his seat and one of the other oddish students looked up and
said, "That's just his way, he won't hurt you, he just doen't know what
you are yet. Just ignore him."

And so I did my best but to be so closely scrutinized by someone who
shows no signs of recognizing my personhood was a very strange
experience. I drew the line when he tried to touch the silver clip in
my hair. He looked mildly surprised when I ducked and pushed his hand
away, then he went over, sat down at his piano and played.

His playing was brilliant. And if you didn't look at him, if you hadn't
seen, if you just closed your eyes and listened, it was all there. All
his missing pieces were there in his music. I can't imagine what will
become of him.

That brought tears to my eyes. As a musician, I totally understand
one's soul being in one's music. But his soul *is* his music. I
can't imagine what will happen to him either.