H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

by Kimberly Jensen

Bennett has always been a boy of few words. He didn't speak until he was nearly four and then it was only one word demands. After many hours of early intervention preschool and speech therapy did he begin to learn the importance of the spoken word; it could get him things. He spoke in quick one-word utterances such as; milk, mom, potty, clothes, eat, go, stop and mastered his first two-word sentence of "go away," which is still his favorite and most often used phrase.

It was during these preschool years that I learned the importance of television and movies to my son. I had never felt this way with my other two kids, but soon saw how the talking box could help Bennett. He loved Disney movies and the trailers for upcoming movies and he was soon speaking in full-sentences, repeating everyone one of his favorite cartoon episodes line for line, word for word. Moms of autistic children know the word for this. It is called echolalic speech. But, hey, it's talking isn't it? He would eventually take these phrases and apply it to appropriate situations in everyday life. It was communication, albeit through cartoon-talk.

He has repeated phrases and sentences from his favorite movies for years now. Today he is nine years old and he still relies on cartoon characters to give him a voice. In the second grade it was Tom from Tom and Jerry. It's been Simba from the Lion King and Peter Parker from Spider Man and most recently, any of the characters in his all-time favorite movie, Transformers.

I visited his school the other day and got rave reviews on how well he is doing in math, and completing his work, and being compliant with the teacher's request. I ran into the P.E. Teacher and she smiled wryly when she found out I was Bennett's mom.

"Oh he's a character," she said, laughing. "Today he came to gym class and was watching the other students perform the exercises I was asking them to do. He just stood next to me and watched for a little while and then looked right up and me and said, ‘What the hell is going on here?' It was so serious I had to laugh."

That was of course a line out of Transformers. I was so proud he used it in context!

If I was the mother of a typical kid, I'd be in the principal's office. But since I am the mother of Bennett, it's called success.

Kimberly Jensen was born and raised in Sandy, Utah and graduated from the University of Utah in 1991 with a B.S. in Communication. She worked as a radio news anchor for KBOI/KQFC and as a public relations specialist for the Idaho Transportation Department in Boise, Idaho. Kimberly and her family moved to Battle Ground, Washington in 2001 where she became a full time mom and writer. Her first children's book, Always the Elf by Cedar Fort Publishing came out in Fall 2007. Two of her stories have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children With Special Needs. She is an avid cyclist and loves spending time with her family and taking them on outdoor adventures. She now lives in Utah with her husband Mark, her three children; Tasia, Clayton and Bennett and her two dogs Simba and Ruby.