Fingertips
Chapter Four
By: Lil' Inu-Yahsa
I still doubt Inu Yasha's ability to feel sometimes, even now. For example, here is a conversation I had with him.
He asked me how I was, because that is being polite and the school people teach him etiquette, and even if he only does it because he is supposed to it still makes me happy because I think that he does care a little. But I should know better than to assume.
I said, "Okay." This is because I was having an OK day but it was not great. When he said nothing I continued. "But my mom is annoying me."
And then after a while he asked, "Why?" Its times like this that I think I am making a break through in his autism but then those words ring in my ears,There is no cure for autism.
And I said, "Because she wants me to do better in school but I can not because she put me in difficult classes and they are too advanced for me." and then he said nothing so I added, "This makes me frustrated because I want to get good grades, but I can't." And he nodded. He still showed no signs of speaking so I asked him a question because he will almost always talk when I ask him something. "How are your grades?"
"I have five A's. They are in Maths, science, American history, Foreign language, and spelling. And I have two B's. They are in English because I can not write good essays and in arts because the teacher says I have troubles with being creative. But I have the best grade of everyone in maths." I like the way Inu Yasha talks because he has a very light British accent because that is where he grew up. (I found this out in this conversation.)
"Wow. Your parents must be so proud of you." I said, because for someone with his condition, he is incredibly intelligent.
And he said, "They are not."
And I was confused by this. So I asked, "Why not?"
And he said, in a very detached way, "Because four years, and six months ago they were in a fire and they burned to death because they were in the house and the fire men said that the smoke made them unconscious. But I did not die because I was outside and across the street looking at the sky. And so I moved away from where I lived, which was Cambridge, and I live with a foster family now."
Then I dropped my marker on the floor and stared at him with huge eyes because I was shocked he could go into horrific detail like that without crying. I picked up my marker a couple minutes later after shaking my head.
"I'm sorry." I said because I felt terrible for Inu Yasha. I thought that losing just one of my parents was bad, but he lost both in a horrible accident and he probably watched his house burn to the ground knowing his parents were in there.
And he said, "But you did not do anything wrong."
I continued to color my picture of a cat.
I think that Inu Yasha is getting better sometimes. Sometimes, he shows signs of genuinely caring about other people. Once, I tripped when we were walking outside and he squatted down all the way to the ground to ask me if I was all right.
This may seem insignificant, but on the contrary, it is more than most people would do. At school, I fall a lot because people at my school are absent minded and leave their things all over the floors. I tripped over a text book and fell really hard on the concrete and the girl who owned the book just looked at me and laughed. Then she said, 'Sorry.' Then she walked away to get something from a vending machine and did not even bother to pick up the text book. Sometimes I think even though he does not show it, and his facial expressions are very, shall we say limited?- that Inu Yasha actually holds more concern for other people than most human beings on this planet, which is a pretty pathetic statistic, because many counselors at the school (I talk to a lot of them.) regard him as quite distant and cold.
It may seem to come across that Inu Yasha is a very sick kind of figure, and that he is emotionless and it is partially my fault, because even though I think he is much deeper than that, he does come across that way. With just a glance, anyone can figure that he is just this blank empty kid.
But they are wrong.
I do have my doubts about him, I know, but Inu Yasha is like a geode. On the outside, they seem coarse and rough and, but on the inside, they are incredibly beautiful. Inu Yasha's soul is like that. However, it takes a giant freaking hammer to open up one of those rocks. And then you have to polish and fix it up a little bit, but they are very lovely. Inu Yasha reminds me of that because he comes across so blandly and so very stoic that a lot of people really just think he is unreachable, and a human being incapable of feeling. But he is not. He has a beauty about him. He really does. And even though everyone else can't see it, I can. And I love that about him.
Even though he really does not smile for all I know, I can tell when he is happy. He lights up like a candle when he is excited and you can tell this from his face and eyes. His eyes get wide and reflective and he gets a curious excited look. But it is a very small and almost unnoticeable look. But I notice it.
Inu Yasha is exceedingly different than the rest of the population. When he was younger, he went to a regular school, because he was not diagnosed with autism and Savants Syndrome until he came to America because they ran a lot of tests on him and watched him for a while.
This is how they diagnosed him.
How is autism diagnosed?
Autism varies widely in its severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps. Doctors rely on a core group of behaviors to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of autism. These behaviors are:
Impaired ability to make friends with peers
Impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
Absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
Stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
Restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
Preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
Inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
Doctors will often use a questionnaire or other screening instrument to gather information about a child's development and behavior. Some screening instruments rely solely on parent observations; others rely on a combination of parent and doctor observations. If screening instruments indicate the possibility of autism, doctors will ask for a more comprehensive evaluation.
Autism is a complex disorder. A comprehensive evaluation requires a multidisciplinary team including a psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist, and other professionals who diagnose children with ASD's. The team members will conduct a thorough neurological assessment and in-depth cognitive and language testing. Because hearing problems can cause behaviors that could be mistaken for autism, children with delayed speech development should also have their hearing tested. After a thorough evaluation, the team usually meets with parents to explain the results of the evaluation and present the diagnosis.
Children with some symptoms of autism, but not enough to be diagnosed with classical autism, are often diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Children with autistic behaviors but well-developed language skills are often diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Children who develop normally and then suddenly deteriorate between the ages of 3 to 10 years and show marked autistic behaviors may be diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder. Girls with autistic symptoms may be suffering from Rett syndrome, a sex-linked genetic disorder characterized by social withdrawal, regressed language skills, and hand wringing.
A lot of autistic people have a hard time growing up if they are undiagnosed. Because they are different, the children on school will target them more often for bullying than others. On the computer I read about a man who wasn't diagnosed until he was thirty. He had a horrible time as a child because his parents did not understand what was wrong with him, so they mistreated and abused him. In school he was picked on by others and when he went to a treatment facility the nurses and staff were abusive to him as well. It scared me to think that could have happened to Inu Yasha as well.
But Inu Yasha was lucky enough to be diagnosed before all those things happened to him. He is doing very well in the school he is at, because the people there treat him nicely and understand that he has special needs. I do not know how Inu Yasha was before, but I think that from the time I met him, he is doing a lot better.
I would like to tell you about Inu Yasha's childhood, but that is for him to do.
Author's Notes
Finished with Four! Yay! I would like to apply a little note here.
This story is in Kagome's POV. You all understand what that means right? I do share some of the views she does, but not all of them! I say things because that is what SHE is thinking! Not me! Kay? So if something in here offends you then go scream at my imaginary narrator, because this is not my mind I am writing about. It is hers.
No more angry reviews, as of yet, from Miss Everest.
Next chapter is in Inu Yasha's point of view! Excited? I am!