978-1572305441

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Zachary 45
gain store. Her dream was to become an actress, but these aspirations
had to contend with her son’s disability. With this added stress, there
was little likelihood of finding the time to pursue another career.
Why does a nine-year-old boy become obsessed with death? How
can this be understood in a child with ASD? What is a parent to do?
Angela asked to see one of our therapists to discuss these questions and
to find a possible solution to the problems it was causing for both her
and Zachary. While they were having a conversation in the living room,
a small, rather plaintive voice called out from the kitchen, “What about
ol’ Blue Eyes, then?”
Angela and the therapist looked at each other in despair. Frank
Sinatra had just died the week before. Zachary was now extending his
range of concerns beyond the immediate family. This was not a good
sign and was another indication that Angela’s attempts to deal with the
problem on her own were having little effect.
Why Ol’ Blue Eyes? Apparently Frank Sinatra was his grandmother’s
favorite singer. She had recently developed an ulcer. Perhaps
Zachary was worried about the effect his death might have on her
health—or so Angela surmised. Zachary could not articulate to his
mother or to the therapist why he was worried about Frank Sinatra in
particular.
I had seen Zachary some three years earlier for an initial assessment.
In the interim, our therapists had worked with him and with his
mother to address concerns about behavior in school and social skills
with peers. But this time I wanted to see him as well. This sounded
more like a profound problem with anxiety than a difficulty in getting
along with friends and doing well at school.
It was nice to see Zachary after such a long time. He arrived one
warm spring day after school. He had very short-cropped blonde hair,
with little tufts sticking out haphazardly. He had grown quite a bit since
I had last seen him. The most striking thing about his appearance was
the way his legs and arms stuck out from his body. His tight T-shirt and
shorts accentuated this gangly appearance, and he moved his limbs in a
rapid, staccato manner. He carried several small toys with him—
Volkswagens in green, red, yellow, and blue. When he came into the
office, Zachary immediately went to the toy box and picked out a white
police car. He did not actually play with it but rather held the car in his
hands along with all the other small toys.
As if on cue, Zachary began to ask his mother the familiar questions:
“What happens when Grandma dies? Who will replace her? What