When a boy on the spectrum and his teacher were unable to understand each other, what should the teacher have done? Steve Spitz, the one neurodivergent boy in his class has some valuable thoughts on this. Granted, Steve was in grammar school decades ago when a student whose mind seemed to be wandering left teachers in a muddle. There was, long ago, no concept of being on any cognitive spectrum, but the best teachers most likely knew what question to ask a struggling student who was having trouble following instruction. Would the best teachers have known that what seemed to be unacceptable behavior was just a cloud cover for confusion?
Steve always had strong points and abilities, and he tells the story of the one compliment his teacher paid him right there in front of the whole class. How healing was this moment? The immediate and lasting effects of this incident should be a lesson for all teachers, as you can see from his smile and the light in his eyes as he recounts it.
Steve is one of the dearest men around and a favorite of so many people who saw him looking for love on the Netflix Special Love on the Spectrum. I say do yourself a favor and dive right into this conversation with Steve. Personally, I am keeping my eyes, heart and ears open for finding this lovable fellow the right love-match. Two people will be very lucky. Well, three people; Steve, his love match and you the matchmaker for whom there is apparently a special place in heaven.