A Deep Look at the Book The Boy Who Loved Windows

At the beginning of the semester I was truly dismayed to see a book on the assignments list. I thought to myself that finding time to read a book would be next to impossible and the book was going to be terrible anyway. One I forced myself to crack the cover of The Boy Who Loved Windows; I could simply not put it down. Reading this book was like my escape from doing real work. I enjoyed reading it and now feel like I can better understand the parents from hell that I may encounter in my professional life.

As soon as Walker was born it was apparent to everyone that everything was not alright. After reading pages one through twelve I compiled a list of all the reasons Walker's family should be concerned: didn't cry, "S" shaped posture, had breathing issues at night, clenched fists, strange, fixed posture, depression, unnatural fixation with light/windows, sleeping all the time, distressed facial expression, lack of eye contact
I then reread the section and compiled a list of the things that I had forgotten on my original list. There things include:1. lack of appetite (would have to wake him up to feed him), 2. when mother tried to dance with him, he flailed his arms as if he were falling, 3. lack of reaction to pain (didn't cry when he hit his head in the bathroom), 4. fall into hysterics after not crying for days and then suddenly fall asleep, 5. recoil when someone put a rattle in his hand, 6. sleep the very second you let him go, but not while being held

In this section I am to explain what advice I would give to the parents to help them cope. Hindsight is 20-20; having finished reading the book before writing this paper I want to tell them that all the hard work you will do will pay off in the end. Everything is going to be okay with Walker and your family will be stronger because of everything you are about to go through. However without hindsight, I would have to tell them they need to take everything one day at a time. This situation is a two way street, things can get a lot better or they just won't. Don't give up and always remember how much you love your child. Everything you do for him will be worth its weight in gold when you see him make an advancement.

A variety of interventions helped Walker to achieve normal, or even an above normal level of functioning. Early in his life Darlene Corbett the director of REACH, the local early intervention agency, and a physical therapist named Arlene directed Pat and Cliff how to accommodate Walker. Darlene suggested not smiling to large around him because of the amount of information transmitted by the human face. She also suggested that they play with him often. Darlene was the first to suggest that Walker may have a sensory integration problem. Before this I had never heard of such a condition. Walker was so sensitive to everything; this caused the family to accommodate him in so many ways. Between the aversion to touch, bright lights, loud sounds, things with too many details, or things that were too exciting. Walker almost had to live in a bubble. Every waking moment was spent sheltering him from the world that was too brutal for him. Not going outside, turning down lights, or even the long feedings were just a few of the ways the family had to accommodate Walker.

Arlene arrived at the family's home with a bag of suggestions. She instructed the parents to place one hand on the upper part of the arm and one hand around the lower and push his forearm into his elbow as if they were trying to snap it into place. I think this was to build up the strength in his arms. Arlene also directed them to hold Walker in the "crescent moon" shape. She assured them that this would help with brain development. Another task the family was given to accommodate him was to limit his senses, especially in the car.

The Boy Who Loved Windows gave me a great insight into the world of brain development and experience. I am currently learning a lot about this type of thing in my classes, but when you see it from a more practical and personal view point then it really helps to drive the point home. I would explain the correlation between brain development and experience using a switchboard operator and a phone call. The phone operator (brain) takes a call (experiences) and connects it through their board to complete the call. Without calls, the operator has nothing to connect, thus no learning is taking place. Unlike real switchboards, the connections the brain makes are like octopus plugs, they can go in many different directions. The connections cannot be made at any however; there is a critical window in which things need to happen if they are ever going to happen. For example, if a child does not talk before a certain age there is a good chance that they will never be able to talk. The development of the brain goes on after birth and is very receptive to stimulation. For example, if you grow up in a musical family, around music, then the musical centers of the brain will develop more. I would then suggest reading The Boy Who Loved Windows, because it helped solidify the concepts in my mind.

Having the Stacey family as a reference one can really catch a glimpse at what it is to be a part of a family that is dealing with a child with an impairment. The Stacey family was often at odds because of the time and energy they put into Walker's care. Pat and Cliff's marriage was on the rocks, and Elizabeth was really feeling pushed aside. However the member of the family that was really suffering, especially before the floor time and other interventions, was Walker. It must be so terrifying to be an infant who doesn't know anything about the world you just entered. I lied on the floor and looked up at the ceiling with my head pressed to the ground. I tried to understand the room with only my eyes. The world was so confusing; it seems as if I was floating in space. I completely understood why Walker would flail his arms as if falling, the floor didn't seem to offer any support. The lines from the ceiling tiles created confusing patterns that eventually blurred out of my peripheral vision. Bright and powerful is how I would describe the light, no wonder Walker looked at it obsessively. I cannot even imagine leading a life with the blank ceiling as your only view.

Fortunately for Walker, his family got the help and education that they needed to help him break away from the monotony of the ceiling. With floor time, and many other interventions, they helped Walker break and excel past his Autistic tendencies. A quote about the intensity of floor time can be found on page 134. This passage illustrates how I view floor time. I understand it to be this high energy, fast paced, and very deliberate process. The director of floor time must be constantly thing and planning ahead. While reading there were times I doubted my own ability to conduct this instruction effectively. I really admire Pat and all those who were involved in Walker's floor time for their energy and devotion. At the same time, I hope to someday feel like I am making a difference in the life of a child, as they did in his life. I wish to someday feel the sense of accomplishment they did when Walker made an advancement.

The Boy Who Loved Windows was a beautiful account of how a family worked to get their child the help and intervention that he needed to be the person he was meant to be. The end result of all their work is an exceptional child who possesses amazing cognitive and linguistically skills. I find it especially fascinating how all of the interventions worked together to aid Walker's language development. I always assumed that language development would be more repetition rather than a mixture of play and questions. I never understood the connection between all the areas of development either. It was quite interesting to see how one advancement can bring others along with it; an advancement in communication can translate into a physical advancement.

I was inspired by this book. The reason I want to be a teacher is so that hopefully someday I can really help someone. Pat, Cliff, and everyone involved really helped Walker. Without them, he wouldn't be anywhere close to the caring, charming, and insightful boy that he is today.