11/01/2022 Mr. Lonely

LETTER TO MY TEACHER-

I am Mr. Lonely because in my house everyone got Covid and then I had to sleep in a different room and also change my bathroom many times that made me feel a little anxious.In the night I was not sleeping because I was disturbed. I was worried that maybe I will get Corona and fall very sick and then go to the hospital. I was scared of being alone in the hospital and of the blood test.I have to stay away from anyone I have to sit separately on the dining table. I cannot talk to anyone I cannot hug anybody I have to play on my own the whole time. I can only go out after 7 days. It's making me feel lonely and sad and it's very boring. I wish I could go out and meet my extended family. In my lonely time I like to talk to all the characters like Peter Pan, Popo, Tom and Jerry, Mowgli, Akila, Baloo and Sher Khan. I like to talk to them because they are my imaginary friends they help me to calm down. This is what I call solo talk.

Dear Reh,

Guess what?! Ms. Pooja is Ms. Lonely too right now because she also has COVID. She has to sit in one room away from everyone else. If she wants to talk to anyone she can only do that on phone and video calls. She has to eat alone by herself in her room. She cannot go to the dining table and eat with everybody else. In her lonely time Ms. Pooja likes to listen to music and read a book.

Reh, if u feel lonely and want to talk to someone, u can also call Ms. Pooja and talk with her :) Take care!

Mum speaks

This is what Reh wrote to his teacher as part of some school HW when we were in quarantine. The next paragraph is his teacher's very empathetic reply, acknowledging his feelings. Contrary to common belief, many children on the spectrum are very social and love to be around people though they cannot convey that in the conventional way that others do.