You don’t know me
But I saw your son at school today.
He was wearing a red shirt,
and I waved
as his sweet face gazed up at me from behind the fence.
(I remember when my Andrew was that little.)
You must love him so much.
Anyway,
I noticed he was alone on the playground
and even though he’s small
I’m not quite sure how it was that no one noticed he was missing
So
I stood and watched
hopeful that I was wrong
and I waited
for someone to come running over
swoop him into their arms
apologize for the misunderstanding
and promise him that it will never ever happen again
but no one showed up
so he just sat there
staring up at me
while I gave them the benefit of the doubt
until I just couldn’t take it anymore
and so I yelled “HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”
and finally
a startled teacher, clear across campus
sauntered over
and
tried to play it cool
like she meant to leave your little boy all by himself to silently trace half-circles in the dirt
while she giggled with her co-workers
and waited for the %@#@$% bell to ring
I know he can’t talk
(neither can mine)
I know he won’t tell you about his day
(neither will mine)
I know he can’t defend himself or ask for help
(neither can mine)
But you know what?
I CAN and
I’ve got a BIG MOUTH
and
I promise you
if I ever see him out there
all by himself
ever again
(and trust me, I’ll be watching)
I won’t be yelling “HEY” next time
I love you
I love you too.
A woman after my own heart!
<3
beautiful woman!
Your blog is wonderful and so are you!
wow this made me cry i thank God everyday that my son can talk but we are their voice keep up the great work May the Lord bless you always
Great poem. And don’t forget about us dads!
thank you for speaking out, as a mom that knows…. we are their voice, their warriors. Fight on.
This totally choked me up. I love this piece so. MUCH. And the sentiment behind it.
i had a similar story, when my son was little… broke my heart … i too am a big loud mouth….lol
My sone is 2 and he is nonverbal… This scares the crap outta me…. I don’t know if I will put him in main stream school
:’) <3
You are awesome x
Thank you for this.
Go mama go!
Amen.
This actually happened to my autistic son in the beginning of the year in first grade. And the teacher actually told me about it while she was on a rant complaining about him. She said, “By the time we realized he wasn’t with us, and he finally came in, we had all already been to the bathroom and were washing our hands!” She left him outside alone, left him to come in on his own, then blamed him while telling me about it. Then she told me my autistic 5 year old son really needed to grow up. Imagine her surprise when I removed him from school the next day.
I hope to one day see this right beside “Richard Corey” and all the Gwendolyn Brooks poetry in my childrens’ Lit books.
Please know that there are teachers that love and adore your special gifts from heaven. I consider it an honor to get to work, play, teach and protect your wonderful exceptional children. And I thank you for sharing your child with me and trusting that I will care for them as much as I do my own. Yes the are some teachers that dont get it …that makes me sad … But there are many that do and love having them be a part of their class and their lives.
We need more parents like you to speak up……..:) Thank You!
We need more parents like you to speak up……..:) Thank You!
This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for being a voice for those that cannot speak up.
Thank you, Bless you, God Luv You Jo! Incredible poem!!!
Unfortunately there have been similar sad incidents throughout my son’s life – he is 30 yrs. old now and still lives at home. Fortunately, there have been far more decent, kind and dedicated professionals in his life than the bad apples. The doctors, therapists, teachers, respite workers, case managers etc. have all been, for the most part, a blessing in our life. Certainly, we could not do this alone!