Take 5ive Themed Issue - Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity.
Individuals on the autistic spectrum encounter a unique set of challenges that can impact various aspects of their lives. Social interactions often prove to be complex, as difficulties in understanding nonverbal cues, maintaining eye contact, and grasping subtle social norms can lead to feelings of isolation. Sensory sensitivities may intensify daily experiences, with overwhelming sensory stimuli triggering anxiety or discomfort. Communication can also be hindered, with some individuals struggling to express their thoughts or understand figurative language. These challenges, though diverse in nature, highlight the importance of fostering understanding, creating inclusive environments, and providing tailored support to empower those on the autistic spectrum to thrive and contribute their unique perspectives to society.
Individuals on the autistic spectrum encounter a unique set of challenges that can impact various aspects of their lives. Social interactions often prove to be complex, as difficulties in understanding nonverbal cues, maintaining eye contact, and grasping subtle social norms can lead to feelings of isolation. Sensory sensitivities may intensify daily experiences, with overwhelming sensory stimuli triggering anxiety or discomfort. Communication can also be hindered, with some individuals struggling to express their thoughts or understand figurative language. These challenges, though diverse in nature, highlight the importance of fostering understanding, creating inclusive environments, and providing tailored support to empower those on the autistic spectrum to thrive and contribute their unique perspectives to society.
Tyson West
grandson’s dyslexic
struggle—ancient blood curse
under western eyes
we bond as I teach
memorize whole words
my classroom banter
needled gym teacher ego
he struck
my classmates heard his rattle
sounding beyond my spectrum
Kathabela Wilson
sixth grade
fast class read around
monster teacher
I pass the answer
to the slow thinking boy
my grandson
asks where do dreams
come from
from your brain I say
and everyone's different
walking
on the edges of things
in strange places
I never stopped my kids
I just joined them
Diane Funston
look me in the eye
I see you in there
rocking
safe from the noise
the rest of us hear
please cut it off, it itches
he pleads over new shirts
the tag
bothers his bare back
and needs to go
counting fire hydrants
along every block
27!
so proud finding them
our daily walk ritual
Tuyet Van Do
with a flat effect
a young woman paces
up and down the hall
looking
at other residents
a middle-aged man
looking occupied
stares at his dinner plate and
walks out of the dining room
singing beautifully
Barbara Anna Gaiardoni
to sensitize
as many people
as possible on
the need to accept
differences
experience
and creativity
to cultivate genuine
chances for improving
quality of lives
Nitu Yumnam
a brown pea
among green ones
to a non-verbal boy
she gestures
“You’re unique, not less!”
the artworks
in the SEN room
on the Earth’s painting
in bold
WE TOO BELONG!
Christina Chin
MIRROR ЯOЯЯIM
reading assessment
the teacher flips
the card and watches
the little girl's
expression
was ƨaw
relearning
the difference—
she reads a page
from Peter and Jane
beginning
to understand
her sister's struggle--
she writes
b and d
Randy Brooks
lighthouse beam
over the choppy waves
I’ve never
been able to see
coming danger
multitasking
our indoor grandson
now with
two screens
to mind
Bonnie J Scherer
unlocking
the spectrum
of the brain…
a rainbow
of possibilities
differences
in the brain,
not people -
a measure
of humanity
neurodiversity …
learning
a new word
I learn
a new attitude
Jackie Chou
flashing
my disabled pass
to board the bus
I make tangible
an invisible illness
my dyslexic friend
said she forgot her glasses
when called to read
she was the smart one
of the two of us
Peter Larsen
she’s different
doesn’t say hello
or ask questions
she knows all about frogs
I like frogs too
he doesn’t grimace
and yell obscenities
any more
but the pills have dulled
his old exuberance
she wears headphones
to block the distractions
that drive her wild...
our champion filly
sprints between blinkers
Debbie Strange
there will be
no carnival with noise
and neon lights . . .
a hypersensitive boy
riding life’s roller coaster
wave after wave
of heat and humidity . . .
the child
who can’t bring herself
to taste ice cream
the weather
in this mountain valley
so unpredictable
your moods shape-shifting
into light and shadow
Richard L. Matta
house shopping
with a real estate agent
ten houses later—we’re confused
the deadpan agent's recall
like a video recorder
stir crazy
on a long road trip
the kids’ new friend
without smiling
shares a memorized joke book
autumn hike
so lost on these trails
a friend
who doesn’t like idle chat
draws out every park trail
Jennifer Gurney
Todd sees the patterns
in everything he works on
steps back to ponder
then jumps back in to fix it
gifted analyzer
when my son was young
he could read his own story
and listen to mine
at the very same time --
very unique brain
my older brother
discovered a molecule
while still in college
a Nobel Prize nominee
he is wired differently
Ram Chandran.
if only
I could understand
what you mean to say
and if only
I could read your silence
with her little fingers
she writes
the name
of her favourite flower ...
"Roes"
Jon Hare
explosion
of multiple dimensions
and realizations
the spectrum
may not be linear
differences
not deficits
define
strengths and skills
in other settings
sticks and stones
break bones--
but names
cut deep
again and again
Suraj Nanu
tangling words
that pursue my son
he is a genius
everyone says
with the suffix of a but
an elephant
on the wall
he gives it
long green tusks
for camouflage
Marilyn Humbert
in a crowd
of black berets
this boy
wearing a red cap
backwards
a puppet
with broken strings
on the shelf
a sad-eyed child
midst the sandpit crowd
Keitha Keyes
not the place
to renew a friendship
we meet
at the psychiatrist’s
and look the other way
“on the spectrum”--
your child’s diagnosis
or a fashion statement?
it’s oh so trendy
until it’s true
Nani Mariani
part of
precious life
the future of neural diversity
must be guided
develop talent
sharp memory
sometimes talking to himself
on the beach
supervision should be more serious
do not understand the meaning of danger
Lorelyn Arevalo
oversharing
thoughts or feelings
unfiltered ...
a pen burping
ink blots
late to sleep
late to arise
late to work
late blooming
flower
Mona Bedi
lunch break
his colleagues go out
to have a smoke
happily behind the desk
he plays with a fidget toy
he screams
throws tantrums
sobbing
only his mother knows
the trauma of ADHD
the thoughts
that form in his mind
he cannot vocalise
the songs he writes
speak volumes
Genevieve S. Aguinaldo
the teacher asks
why I bring a net in class
how else will I catch
these letters
fluttering in every page
I welcome
my mother's guests
like a light bulb
flickering
during a storm
Anthony Lusardi
the older
and taller she gets
the more she notices
the buzzing
of the airplanes above
year-old toddler
following
and mimicking
the dance steps
of her older sister
Lorraine Padden
the bird cam
tells us that chicks
are ready to fledge
the sound of a fidget toy
deep in his pocket
scanning the room
for the least crowded corner
he settles
next to a sweater
with 10,000 stitches
red waves surge
into purple-
the depth of
his favorite soprano’s
exit aria
Steve Wilkinson
In a tapestry
of diverse minds
every stitch
is counted and coded and yet
each one has a unique hue
human diversity
a spectrum of rainbow colours
wants and needs
conveyed through symbols
signs and pictures
A journey of hurdles
an Olympic event of anxiety
and frustration
hyper focused on making it
through one day at a time
grandson’s dyslexic
struggle—ancient blood curse
under western eyes
we bond as I teach
memorize whole words
my classroom banter
needled gym teacher ego
he struck
my classmates heard his rattle
sounding beyond my spectrum
Kathabela Wilson
sixth grade
fast class read around
monster teacher
I pass the answer
to the slow thinking boy
my grandson
asks where do dreams
come from
from your brain I say
and everyone's different
walking
on the edges of things
in strange places
I never stopped my kids
I just joined them
Diane Funston
look me in the eye
I see you in there
rocking
safe from the noise
the rest of us hear
please cut it off, it itches
he pleads over new shirts
the tag
bothers his bare back
and needs to go
counting fire hydrants
along every block
27!
so proud finding them
our daily walk ritual
Tuyet Van Do
with a flat effect
a young woman paces
up and down the hall
looking
at other residents
a middle-aged man
looking occupied
stares at his dinner plate and
walks out of the dining room
singing beautifully
Barbara Anna Gaiardoni
to sensitize
as many people
as possible on
the need to accept
differences
experience
and creativity
to cultivate genuine
chances for improving
quality of lives
Nitu Yumnam
a brown pea
among green ones
to a non-verbal boy
she gestures
“You’re unique, not less!”
the artworks
in the SEN room
on the Earth’s painting
in bold
WE TOO BELONG!
Christina Chin
MIRROR ЯOЯЯIM
reading assessment
the teacher flips
the card and watches
the little girl's
expression
was ƨaw
relearning
the difference—
she reads a page
from Peter and Jane
beginning
to understand
her sister's struggle--
she writes
b and d
Randy Brooks
lighthouse beam
over the choppy waves
I’ve never
been able to see
coming danger
multitasking
our indoor grandson
now with
two screens
to mind
Bonnie J Scherer
unlocking
the spectrum
of the brain…
a rainbow
of possibilities
differences
in the brain,
not people -
a measure
of humanity
neurodiversity …
learning
a new word
I learn
a new attitude
Jackie Chou
flashing
my disabled pass
to board the bus
I make tangible
an invisible illness
my dyslexic friend
said she forgot her glasses
when called to read
she was the smart one
of the two of us
Peter Larsen
she’s different
doesn’t say hello
or ask questions
she knows all about frogs
I like frogs too
he doesn’t grimace
and yell obscenities
any more
but the pills have dulled
his old exuberance
she wears headphones
to block the distractions
that drive her wild...
our champion filly
sprints between blinkers
Debbie Strange
there will be
no carnival with noise
and neon lights . . .
a hypersensitive boy
riding life’s roller coaster
wave after wave
of heat and humidity . . .
the child
who can’t bring herself
to taste ice cream
the weather
in this mountain valley
so unpredictable
your moods shape-shifting
into light and shadow
Richard L. Matta
house shopping
with a real estate agent
ten houses later—we’re confused
the deadpan agent's recall
like a video recorder
stir crazy
on a long road trip
the kids’ new friend
without smiling
shares a memorized joke book
autumn hike
so lost on these trails
a friend
who doesn’t like idle chat
draws out every park trail
Jennifer Gurney
Todd sees the patterns
in everything he works on
steps back to ponder
then jumps back in to fix it
gifted analyzer
when my son was young
he could read his own story
and listen to mine
at the very same time --
very unique brain
my older brother
discovered a molecule
while still in college
a Nobel Prize nominee
he is wired differently
Ram Chandran.
if only
I could understand
what you mean to say
and if only
I could read your silence
with her little fingers
she writes
the name
of her favourite flower ...
"Roes"
Jon Hare
explosion
of multiple dimensions
and realizations
the spectrum
may not be linear
differences
not deficits
define
strengths and skills
in other settings
sticks and stones
break bones--
but names
cut deep
again and again
Suraj Nanu
tangling words
that pursue my son
he is a genius
everyone says
with the suffix of a but
an elephant
on the wall
he gives it
long green tusks
for camouflage
Marilyn Humbert
in a crowd
of black berets
this boy
wearing a red cap
backwards
a puppet
with broken strings
on the shelf
a sad-eyed child
midst the sandpit crowd
Keitha Keyes
not the place
to renew a friendship
we meet
at the psychiatrist’s
and look the other way
“on the spectrum”--
your child’s diagnosis
or a fashion statement?
it’s oh so trendy
until it’s true
Nani Mariani
part of
precious life
the future of neural diversity
must be guided
develop talent
sharp memory
sometimes talking to himself
on the beach
supervision should be more serious
do not understand the meaning of danger
Lorelyn Arevalo
oversharing
thoughts or feelings
unfiltered ...
a pen burping
ink blots
late to sleep
late to arise
late to work
late blooming
flower
Mona Bedi
lunch break
his colleagues go out
to have a smoke
happily behind the desk
he plays with a fidget toy
he screams
throws tantrums
sobbing
only his mother knows
the trauma of ADHD
the thoughts
that form in his mind
he cannot vocalise
the songs he writes
speak volumes
Genevieve S. Aguinaldo
the teacher asks
why I bring a net in class
how else will I catch
these letters
fluttering in every page
I welcome
my mother's guests
like a light bulb
flickering
during a storm
Anthony Lusardi
the older
and taller she gets
the more she notices
the buzzing
of the airplanes above
year-old toddler
following
and mimicking
the dance steps
of her older sister
Lorraine Padden
the bird cam
tells us that chicks
are ready to fledge
the sound of a fidget toy
deep in his pocket
scanning the room
for the least crowded corner
he settles
next to a sweater
with 10,000 stitches
red waves surge
into purple-
the depth of
his favorite soprano’s
exit aria
Steve Wilkinson
In a tapestry
of diverse minds
every stitch
is counted and coded and yet
each one has a unique hue
human diversity
a spectrum of rainbow colours
wants and needs
conveyed through symbols
signs and pictures
A journey of hurdles
an Olympic event of anxiety
and frustration
hyper focused on making it
through one day at a time
