If you read my article, “A Mind trapped in a body”, this is an entirely different story. I worked at a home for those with developmental disabilities. We had one gentleman who didn’t speak or even respond to sounds. So I don’t know if he could hear. He spent most of his time in his room, alone. I had been warned about watching him when he was near as he had actually taken a bite out of one of the lady caretakers. When led to the table, he could feed himself. When taken to the showers, he could wash himself. Never did I ever see him express any emotion or even reaction to any stimuli.
He had a twin brother who was in another home. I had been told that his mother would come, on occasion, and pick him up. She would already have the other brother. She drove a convertible. As she left, the image relayed to me was one of two boys crawling all over the car and her as they left.
We had a small room in this home with two divans positioned so one could watch a TV. Many times, I would find this young man on the floor in this room. Although the TV was left on all the time so that anyone could go in and watch, he never looked at the TV. He never reacted in any form to the sounds or sights from the TV. He just lay there unresponsive to any stimuli.
One day, when I walked into the room, he was laying on the couch. I went over to the end where his feet were and lifted them and sat down, laying his feet on my lap. I then proceeded to rub his feet.
I was fully aware that there might be a violent reaction, but nothing happened. For some time I rubbed his feet. He never smiled. He never stirred. He never reached for me or tried to bite me. He just laid there.
I was only at this home a little over a month, but on a couple of other occasions when I entered the TV room, he was laying on the couch. Again, I positioned my self at the end of the divan and rubbed his feet.
I have often wondered what, if anything, was going on in his mind. I remember the story told me of him being picked up by his mother. The impression I got was that the twins were crawling all over the car as well as their mother. Was the last time anyone had touched these twins their mother? Certainly in the home where he was residing now, no one approached him. Of course, there was the fear of violence from him, but how long since anyone had tried to hug or even touch him or even try to relate to him.
I will never know if I had any influence on this young man. I do know that of my experiences with those who had mental and emotional disabilities, just listening to them made a difference in their lives and I will have stories to tell about my
lingering impressions.
Other Lingering Impressions stories:
Lingering Impressions: Even with Down Syndrome-He loved TV Food Shows
Lingering Impressions-a MIND trapped in a BODY
I am the author of
“Talk to Me, Dad!” under pen name Pete Williams
“JayWalkers Shouldn’t be Shot” under Gary Peterson
both on amazpon