autismdadinthe603

As I look back as a passenger in our car, I see three children. Two of them are looking at me, whereas the third one is looking out the window.

Whenever I ask Sawyer what he sees, he will respond with the road. However, what in his brain is allowing him to comb all areas like a computer?

For example, last summer I tried to take a left hand turn on a road near my Moms. There was construction so we had to go a different way. It was something I never thought of ever again. It was just another day, just another drive.

This was until the other day when we left our favorite ice cream hangout, The Inside Scoop in Bedford.

We got into the car and Sawyer wanted us to go a different way to his Grandmother’s house in Merrimack, which is a town over.

At each stop, he told my wife, Kellie to either turn left, go straight, go right, or go here or there. There wasn’t a reference to a street name nor a number. There was only the destination he cared for.

What I found incredible was that from the Scoop, it is a legit 15 minute ride to my Mom’s house. It’s not just a straight shot and we have never taken him the way he was taking us.

Even more jaw dropping was he led us to the road that I tried to take last summer, which was another observation that he must have made that one time.

So this leads me to more questions than answers. What does Sawyer see while driving? What is he processing? Why are routes so important to him? Can I ever get a glimpse into how his brain works?

It’s puzzling but intriguing at the same time.

When we got to my Mom’s, all I could think about was a giant grid of angles, and colors that Sawyer has associated landmarks with in the past.

Was this how he got us here? Does he have an internal gps that can lead us anywhere?

Will I ever understand?