it set him off and he commented on it without end. Those were the times when he got stuck on a topic or a complaint. Sometimes Jody wished she could put in ear plugs but she long ago discovered ways to draw him back to the outside world. Finding a topic of interest and distracting him were the best strategies for that.
Jody adored JayJay. She was five years old when he was born. Not until age two did they notice differences in his development. Delays in the usual milestones. When they weren’t being met at the average age of other children, the flag that something might be different with JayJay went up. After several doctor appointments, the conclusion came: JayJay was autistic. Labels like that might bother some people but Jody found it straightforward. Oh, so that was it. That was part of his personality and whom he was. The information she gained from his diagnosis let her learn how to communicate with him better and treat him respectfully when she tried to connect with him. He was her brother and had his own way to communicate. Done. No worries. She could do that and soon expected everyone else to do so too. It was never a problem, not even from day one for Jody. He was her brother, he was autistic, and he was awesome.
Sadly, not everyone was as receptive to his condition as Jody was. She had plenty of moments observing the ignorance of other kids and their subsequent teasing. Her mom or dad often found her in tears over the latest cruel moniker someone said as they pointed at him. She could never deal with it. Not when it was directed at JayJay. He was so pure and good. Not a mean, nasty, or evil thought or word existed in him. He was like a white light to all their petty jibes. He was twice the person any of them were. She knew that. How dare they laugh at him.
Jody learned to pick her battles. She got pretty skilled at it when necessary. On the rare occasion when she witnessed people’s ignorance or rudeness to her brother, she came up with some pretty good comebacks that put them in their place. The sarcastic words weren’t life-changing and she wasn’t saving the world, but when called on to defend JayJay? Yeah, she never backed down or missed a chance or an opportunity. He was always well worth it.
Of course, her parents’ excessive wealth allowed them access to the best practices and therapies of the time. Jody thought of the many families who did not have the resources for an individual dealing with such a condition in our judgmental world. She was so grateful for her parents’ money when she saw what it did for JayJay, allowing him to reach his full potential.
JayJay didn’t look up when Jody walked past him. She stopped and ruffled his hair, which made him grunt and lean forward. He didn’t like being disturbed while gaming.
“Hey, dude, where’s Mom and Dad?”
“Some fancy dinner. I didn’t want to go.”
“Perfect. Then we can order pizza. What do you say?” Pizza was his favorite dish. Jody was aware her parents had gone out. They texted her to check on JayJay. They always invited him to go wherever they went but he rarely accepted. He detested wearing button-up shirts and complained how they hurt his neck and he didn’t like that.
No one familiar with Nick and Joelle Lassiter did not know their son too. He was a prominent family member who usually accompanied them, no matter where they went or what they did. Neither considered it a problem to have a child on the spectrum. JayJay was their son and naturally played a large part in all of their lives.
He nodded without glancing at her. She sighed as she walked around and flopped down beside him. “All right, who are you and what’s your deal?” She waved at the TV. In order to connect with JayJay, she had to connect with the things he related to. His interests were confined to specific things and nonexistent in others.
JayJay launched into an animated explanation of the crashing, revolving, life-like people on the screen. Jody had zero interest in his descriptions, but he was one hundred percent engaged, so she often encouraged him to talk about his games. This was not unusual.
He stopped to eat the pizza when it arrived and Jody managed to nudge a few more details from him