This is a story about the power of music and poetry on a little boy with autism. By Max's father, Matthew Bauer.
Max, our son, was diagnosed on his second birthday. It wasn’t the gift we’d hoped for, but we decided early on to help him learn that any limitations on his life are his alone, not dictated by his condition. Even as an infant Max showed an interest in music and showed an ability to sing before he could say much. So we’ve used music as a tool to engage him, and it’s been successful.
He also loves computers, and his favorite website is YouTube. As he adventured around the site, he discovered new music; not just kid’s music, but pop acts, girls doo-wop, classical piano and jazz. The first jazz clip that caught his ear was Denys Baptiste’s “Let Freedom Ring!”—the brass, the piano, the groove just seemed to get to him, and he’d listen to it over and over and over again.
As he’s gotten older, his comprehension has advanced to a range that’s more age-appropriate, and he’s re-discovering old favorites. So when “Let Freedom Ring!” came back into his YouTube repertoire, he seemed to start listening with new ears. That was confirmed when we found Max on the couch this morning with his iPad, playing “Let Freedom Ring!” and sitting quietly with his hands pressed together, as if in prayer.
“Our handicaps, can be the seed of our glories.”
He listened intently, perhaps finding something new in Ben Okri’s words.
“We shouldn’t deny them. We should embrace them,”
He lifted the iPad to his lips.
“Embrace our marginalisation, our powerlessness...”
He kissed the music and the words, and gave a rare, genuine, lop-sided smile which we captured on camera.
“Embrace our handicaps, and use them, and go beyond them...”
We don’t know what the future holds for Max but we work hard and are eternally hopeful that he will one day release “the power of solar systems” in his mind.
