When TH does his work at school--and he's always been this way--he adds in numerous characteristic marks that some might think of as "decoration." They are arrows, everywhere, in all directions; circles around specific words or letters; or simply his name, "TH," "TH," "TH," all over the paper, interjected among the answers to the math problems or the responses to reading comprehension questions. I can only imagine what educators would have tried to force him to do 20 years ago had he manifested these tendencies. But his teachers and aides seem to recognize this for what it is--the compulsive, necessary product of a supercharged brain.
At the beginning of this school year, all of the children in TH's class drew pictures of their homes, artistic productions that the teacher then posted on the hallway bulletin board for parents to enjoy on Parents' Night. The representations were what you might expect--grassy yards, blue skies mysteriously separated from the terra firma by a vague, white void, red brick, the occasional furry pet, windows, doors, chimneys. And then there was this, to the left, from TH.And I think it's a pretty accurate representation of where he lives, 24-7, day in and day out, in that supercharged brain of his.
