Autism Misunderstood [E] For my autistic son |
WILDG, thank you for the privilege of reviewing this poem. I will express my heart and I pray something will resonate with you, helping you both today and in the future. Overall Impression: You are a mother, who loves her son dearly and who can see what so many fail to see through their use of the neuro-typical, traditional approach to thinking. I can so relate to your son. I have often been misunderstood for being "too honest." (I recently shared a bit of honestly on WDC and immediately realized why I just keep my opinions to myself. From that bit of social faux pas I hope to recover over the next few months. I am not sure anyone would label me, "autistic," but if you consider all of Humanity to be on the Autism-Social Spectrum, then I am certainly not on the social end of that scale.) Suggestions: I am not sure how to change to rhythms to make them fit into a classical format. Ergo, I will consider the rhythm part of this poem to be free verse. (I am giving the poem a 4.5 because it is easier for me to read poetry, which has consistent rhythm.) The A-A-B-B rhyme scheme fits very, remaining consistent throughout the poem. Punctuation/Spelling/Grammar: The grammatical part of this poem works nicely for me, giving me no distractions. What I Like: I like the fact, that you used different colors for the font to show a connection with the Autism logo. I like the fact, that you repeated end lines for the first three verses. "They weighed what they misunderstood and called him slow." This line always followed three lines, that proved it woefully inadequate as wisdom. "They feared what was different and clung to what they knew." This line followed three lines, that showed how socially infantile the rest of the world really is. Autistic people are some of the most intellectually adept people in the world. Autistic people can learn social skills much the same way they learn any other subject...by study, by practice and by gutting it out to higher levels of adroitness, although subjects, like history, science and math are intensely more practical and more easily learned, since these subjects are consistent and formatted, whereas social skills are woefully inconsistent and transitory. I love the Temple Grandin Story as portrayed by Claire Danes. I often have to shake myself awake to realize once again, that it's actually Claire Danes and not a younger version of Temple Grandin because she is so dead-on in her portrayal. Much success to your son. I am glad he has found significance in a world, that too often doesn't understand. Be Blessed! :D BTW, thanks for the trinket! :)
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