Ellis and His Big Blue Hug

I think one of the most devastating neurobiological disorders for a parent to deal with is Autism. These children have a hard time communicating with others. Imagine not being able to communicate with your own child, not being able to talk to him, hug him, kiss him and have him respond in kind. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) has no less than 12 symptoms of autism listed and an individual must display at least six of these symptoms to be given the diagnosis. However it is not within the scope of this article to list all the symptoms or even the various autistic related disorders.

To give you an idea of the severity of the disorder I will list a few of them here:

"The symptoms which fall under the social interaction category are: marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors; failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships; lack of spontaneous seeking to share interests and achievements with others; and lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

The symptoms which fall under the communication category are: delay in or lack of spoken language development (with no compensation through alternative modes of communication); in verbal persons, marked impairment in conversational skills; stereotyped and repetitive use of language; and lack of spontaneous age-appropriate make-believe or social imitative play." http://www.autism.org/dsm.html

Jason Goldsmith of Montreal has a son living with autism. According to Jason, he has never been able to communicate with his son. "Ellis objectifies people and there is no difference between his parents and the couch," Jason explained to ctv.ca news - January 3, 2007. It was very frustrating and heartbreaking until now.

The child discovered drawing as a medium to get through to his father. Ellis began working with an art therapist and now has found a way to convey his thoughts and feelings. Ellis drew a picture of a big blue hug to let his father know what he needed from him. This picture became the catalyst for communication with his father and the world.

Jason Goldsmith is happy that finally after all these years he can relate to his precious son. Now that new avenues have opened up, Ellis can enrich his social interactions and open up new possible horizons.

To share this wonderful breakthrough with the world, Jason Goldsmith has opened up a website called Big Blue Hug. Jason explains that Big Blue Hug website is a tool to share the stories of autistic children with the world through the use of talking pictures. This website helps, "to show us what's on their minds and in their hearts." http://www.thebigbluehug.com/