In Ralph James Savarese’s prologue to See It Feelingly, he details his son DJ’s autism as an important spectacle of human empathy, pushing back on the stereotype that autistic people do not feel the depth of emotion the way an able-minded person might. DJ is an important example of how the autistic mind is not closed to typical human emotions, but rather these emotions can be expressed in a neurodiverse manner. Also, Savarese is an important example of what can happen when the able-minded take the time to step into an atypical perspective.
Savarese’s inclusion of DJ’s voice in his prologue begs the notion that just because a person does not communicate in a “typical” way doesn’t mean they don’t have something valuable to say. In the fifth grade, DJ wrote, “First, free people treat my people, very smart people who type to communicate, as mindless,” (17). A ten-year-old advocate already attuned to how he and “his people” are understood in the world. Along with his understanding of his placement in the world, DJ holds an amplified ability to relate to other people, real and fictional. Savarese goes on to point out the repetition of “breath” and the concept of breathing in his son’s writing, which is something he struggles to control as a result of intense anxiety. DJ’s anxiety is often the result of “channeling the traumatic injuries” (17) of the characters he reads about. He is easily overwhelmed by empathy, and he would communicate his understanding of people’s feelings through anxiety-ridden meltdowns. One meltdown in particular almost got him expelled from his middle school, to which he responded with a thoughtful letter to the principal asking for a second chance, but also demanding “respect for underestimated kids” (17). What was seen as a behavioral issue was really the result of a neurodiverse mind experiencing intense empathy.
It is obvious that Savarese takes the time to relate to DJ, really venturing into his territory. Both Savarese and DJ have to experience alien terrain as they try to grapple the world together, and in doing this, Savarese sets a sound example of the give and take that comes when you raise an autistic child. He highlights DJ’s empathy as a strength, saying, “DJ had taught me much about our deepest emotions and their centrality to literature- to all of the arts” (19). Understanding that DJ has a hard time with his readings, Savarese encouraged him to channel his focus on the reading process rather than the content. He even set a dedicated space for the two of them to read together, because as Savarese notes, “I wanted him to feel at home in literature” (20). Savarese says his son’s decision to become a writer was likely a result of him working with DJ to make reading more comfortable. It is important that this prologue not only breaks stereotypes surrounding autism, but highlights a critical relationship in which the abled is willing to step into a neurodiverse perspective. As Savarese and DJ both prove, “simply conforming to the dominant culture is not always a worthy goal.”
I pledge. Madison Moyer
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