978-1572305441

A Justin Mind Apart
Chapter 3
Justin
Listening to the Architecture
of the World
I often notice Justin pacing back and forth in the hallway
while he waits for his appointment. Through the window he flits in and
out of view as he goes up and down the corridor. He’s always listening
to his portable radio, just like any teenage boy. But Justin is thirty years
old, and he lumbers rather than walks, humming a tune from the radio
under his breath. I’ve known him for almost twenty years. He was one
of the first people with autism I met, and for that reason he will always
hold a special place in my heart. I’ve learned a great deal from Justin,
and if he has benefited from my interventions, it will have been a fair
trade. He has been through a great deal, and his parents, Mark and Vera,
have weathered many crises over the years.
The nice thing about Justin is that he is always smiling, though this
does not mean that he’s always happy. He is a charming mixture of incongruous
characteristics. His mouth smiles, but his eyes are often melancholy.
He speaks in a flat monotone voice about a number of worries
that plague him. But he smiles even when he talks about these terrible
fears. He is now slightly balding and putting on a bit of weight. Justin
usually wears a heavy coat, even in summer, and always sports the inevitable
earphones. Often I have to remind him to take them out so we
can have a better conversation. He looks at me quizzically and then reluctantly
complies.
Jason is very attentive to sound when he comes to visit. As he
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