normal amusement for a small child took on new meaning.
As he tumbled over into his mother’s lap, and then evaded her hug to bounce up and spin again, Tabitha’s earlier words came back to Lauren. Special needs could wreak havoc on families. How could you talk to a child who spun all day, or feed or cuddle him?
Lauren slid one more time into Jacob’s mind and watched as he spun, fell, and got up again. This time she was even more sure.
“He spins to attach himself to the ground. Almost as if he feels too light to stick otherwise.”
Tabitha’s face lit up. “Too light. Bingo. Wait here.”
She jumped up and disappeared into a door Lauren hadn’t noticed before. In seconds, she was back, bearing what appeared to be a life jacket.
Since floating seemed like the opposite of what the boy needed, Lauren was puzzled. “Any idea what that is?” she asked Jennie.
“Not a one, but Tabby is a genius at this. You gave her an important clue, and I think she has an idea now about how to help Jacob.”
They both watched as Tabitha said a few words to Jacob’s parents. Then she knelt down and hugged the boy into her lap, sliding the jacket onto his shoulders and fastening the Velcro straps.
Fascinated, Lauren dropped into connection with Jacob again. He was agitated—he didn’t like being held still. She was just about to call out when Tabitha finished attaching the vest and released Jacob. He bounced up and began to spin.
Then Jacob stopped dead. Lauren felt his mind flood with wonder. He was attached. He was stuck to the ground. Slowly, he took small steps to see if the miracle would continue. It did. The joy in his mind was sunshine bright.
Tabitha gently took his hand and guided him to his mother. His mama gathered him up and hugged him again, and this time, Jacob stayed. She rocked slowly and sang, tears streaming down her face.
Jacob felt the motions, and the murmured words, and the tears dripping on his head. Soft warm arms held him, and a quiet sound beat steadily under his ear.
When Tabitha walked back over to the pillows where Lauren and Jennie sat, she too had eyes full of tears.
She reached a hand out to Lauren. “Thank you.”
Lauren wiped her cheeks. “What is the vest you put on him? It worked like magic.”
Tabitha laughed and sniffled. “No magic involved. It’s called a weighted vest. It adds about ten pounds to his body weight. When you said he felt too light, I thought it would work. Some children with sensory issues seem to need the extra weight to feel gravity the way you and I do. It isn’t something we had thought to try with him because we focused on the spinning, not the falling down.”
“That is so cool. He’s feeling so content right now.”
Tabitha reached in her pocket for a tissue and blew her nose. “Girl, you have no idea. Are you just monitoring him right now?” At Lauren’s nod, she continued. “Can you split your scan and look into his mother’s mind as well?”
Lauren hadn’t tried exactly that before, but she could visualize how to do it. Dropping into mind center again, she branched a channel off her connection with the boy and reached out to his mom.
Oh. Jacob’s sun-bright joy was anemic shadow next to his mama’s. She had not held her little boy like this since he had learned to walk, and then to spin. Years and years of the pain of loving a child you could not hold, a child you couldn’t really reach. Time could freeze now, in this moment.
When Lauren gently pulled back from the minds of Jacob and his mom, her cheeks were wet again. Tabitha handed over a box of tissues. “She’s never been able to hold him?”
“It’s not that unusual. Jacob is autistic, and some children on the autism spectrum have great difficulty with physical affection. Many don’t and are full of cuddles and hugs, but not all. We’ve been trying to meet Jacob’s sensory needs in other ways so he could stop spinning and have a better chance to interact with his family, but progress has been quite slow.”
Tabitha blew her nose again. “I’ve been working with them for over a year. You’ve seen a small miracle today, Lauren. You helped create it. Jacob is well loved, but today he knows it.”
Lauren shook her head. “I did so little. Will the vest keep helping him?”