GPS? No thanks, I Have Matt

GPS (global positioning system), for all those with a crappy sense of direction, is now common in vehicles and phones.  I don't need GPS - I have Matt.

We noticed this ability when he was quite young.  We took a trip to see relatives near Chicago, driving from our house in the mountains of Virginia.  Matt was not speaking yet on this first trip.  He rode quietly in the back seat, staring out the window.  Our other 3 children talked and laughed and when the sun went down, promptly conked out.  Not Matt.  He would fight sleep - just had to see where we were going.  We drove most of the way at night because, well, we had 4 kids.  The trip home was similar, when the sun went down eyes closed - except for Matt.

We didn't take trips up north very often.  It cost money, and we live from paycheck to paycheck.  So the next time we went up north was years later.  Matt was speaking in simple sentences by then.  I don't know about the quirks of other autistic children, but Matt liked to talk to himself in a low voice.  I think it helps him to focus on what he is doing.  There are times when I talk to myself out-load, and usually it is when I am trying to stay focused on something I am doing, or working through a problem I am having.  Have you ever talked to yourself out-load?

Anyway, Matt spoke softly to himself while we drove the route from our house to my mothers, 900 miles away, and I didn't catch what he was saying until the other children fell asleep.  That's when I heard what he was actually saying - he was giving the step-by-step, turn-by-turn directions for driving our route.  He had actually memorized the way to grandma's house!

This was very enlightening in several ways.
First - wow! What a memory.  He was accurate about every highway, off-ramp, major road sign - even where we stopped for gas and bathroom breaks!  He knew major Interstates and every city street to take to reach our destination.

Second - (a "lightbulb" moment), he had been memorizing all this years before, when he was unable to communicate verbally.  Of course, it makes so much sense now - roads form long, unbroken lines, connecting one major area to another, just like telephone lines, just like railroad tracks. His interest must have been intense as he never slept while the car was moving.

Third - this was one of those moments that changed how I taught him..  He was learning by watching and listening, in addition to all the practice, practice, practice.  Just being around the exchange of knowledge (in a classroom), or within earshot of a conversation, was providing him with the information he needed to make some great neural connections. I started using this knowledge to teach Matt new things.

He still has this wonderful gift.  When we go on a vacation to a destination he has never before experienced, he stares out the window, taking it all in.  He draws some of the signs, and sometimes a few landmarks (like statues or monuments). Rest assured, when we travel back to that same vacation spot, he mutters to himself under his breath, and remembers every turn.  If I ask him, "where do we turn next?", he sits up straighter, gets his bearings (this takes only seconds) and gives me the route to take.  My sense of direction is pretty good, so I don't need to ask him very often, but I do to get him to start a conversation with me.  Matt is always eager to provide technical assistance for any journey, whether a long trip or short.

GPS?  Why would I ever need GPS when I can have something much better - a conversation with my son.