Garden Map

Video games. Personally, I've never been a big fan. There are some I have played, mostly to play with my kids, but I could never get addicted the way my kids do. When the video game for Jurassic Park came out we had to buy it for Matt. Dinosaurs and jungles and various weapons of destruction – what’s not to love? I learned to play and even made it to the end eventually, but as I said, I didn't play very often. Matt, on the other hand, was a Jurassic Park ninja at the age of 7. He played daily and for hours at a stretch. He had to win – just had too! Matt competed with Jacob, Sarah, Tom and me and won the 99% of the time. But against his older brother, Christopher? Well, a clash of the titans describes it best. Speed clicking the controller, thumbs flying, bodies in motion, eyes glued to the screen – a true battle of ninjas. It was because Christopher was so good at it that Matt learned the secret codes, found more hidden points and learned to read the island map. The map had a “you are here” and showed the various locations of battles and treasures and how to get to them. This led Matt to use real maps. It also led to his first self-made map.

I do a lot of yard work because frankly, I love it. I plant gardens and flower beds and create walkways. I had Matt outside with me as I tilled the ground. Matt had a small train box car that he was making ramps for so he could watch the little truck take flight – he loved watching trajectories, remember. He always carried paper and pencil with him to draw and his paper lay in the dirt as his truck attempted the next Evil-Knievel stunt.

A few days later as we were having lunch Matt brought me a picture. A confusing set of lines, an X and what appeared to be a box car. The paper had a bit of dirt on it. I told him how nice it was and gave it back. He handed it back to me. Pointing at the X he said “yellow box car”. “It’s a nice box car”, I said. Not good enough – he pointed again, “yellow box car”. O.K., what is it about this box car? I stared at it, trying to make sense of his picture. A picture with a stick-figure of Matt, the house, an X and a box car. Frustrated with me, he turned and left. I looked in on him after lunch. His video game was on pause and he was drawing.

The following day he brought me the picture again and pointed to the X and said “yellow box car” – and again the next day, and the day after. Wow! I was definitely a slow learner. A few days later I took him back outside to play while I again headed for the garden. When Matt realized we were headed outside he ran back to his room to get his picture. He stopped at the door and looked at his paper. He then made very deliberate steps across the deck and into the yard. I wish I would have continued to watch as he took each step according to plan, but I missed it. I had assumed he was just playing some odd Matt-type game and instead of watching him I went to the garden. Before I started digging I looked over at Matt. He had also come to the garden. Paper in hand, he dropped to his knees and began to dig. Now I had to watch!

Matt turned over the dirt by the handfuls until finally his hands brought up a small yellow box car. Oh, I get it! Matt’s picture was a map. He had buried his truck in the garden and drawn a map to its location. The confusing set of lines had actually been a quite accurate diagram of the house and lawn. The box car was underground and the X – well, the X marked the spot.

I asked Matt if I could see his picture again. A big smile shone brightly on his face as he happily showed his map. He had written “You are here” on the line that represented the back door. He must have added it after I had trouble deciphering the first map. He joyfully took his yellow box car back inside – he looked so triumphant.

Matt had used the island map on his video game as an example for making his own map. He then tested the map, and seeing that it confused me, had adjusted the map to more accurately depict the starting point. Supposedly, autistic children are not able to engage in imaginative or creative play. Clearly, this is not accurate. Matt demonstrated both imagination (the garden was the jungle) and creativity (actually making a map of his hidden treasure).

It would be more accurate to say the symptoms of autism at the onset include lack of imaginative play but it will not last their entire life. So many symptoms a parent notices at age 2 simply dissolve slowly away as the child grows and learns. There are a few aspects of autism that will never fade away. I know Matt will be autistic for the rest of his life, but to assume that all the behaviors at onset remain is simply not true. Every child is fully capable of learning new things. The mind is not completely hard-wired to autism. Many of the newly forming connections are sending the old autism connections packing.

Or, to put it another way, a new highway is being constructed and the old dirt roads eventually get covered by grass and fade into nature. Here, let me draw you a map . . .