At this moment, I am so inspired by life’s wonders. This moment teaches me that even handicaps can be extraordinary… indeed I am inspired by the life of a man who once said that “You don’t have to be handicapped to be different, everybody is different.” The guy who has been the inspiration in the award winning movie: “Rain Man”, the real Raymond Rabbit… Kim Peek.
He can finish reading EIGHT BOOKS in ONE DAY… or read a SINGLE PAGE in just TEN SECONDS. Imagine that. Amazing, isn’t it? What’s more remarkable is that… everything he read since THREE years old were preserved. And to think he was diagnosed to be mentally retarded. And that the doctors recommend him to be put to an institution. But his parents stand with their son and took care of him.
Based on the research, by the UC San Francisco, Kim has a different brain structure… he doesn’t have a division on his brain like most normal brains (it doesn’t have a left and right brain), He has a great memory when it comes to information, however, he has deficits when it comes to THEORY OF MIND (the ability of a person to understand what the other person is thinking) meaning he doesn’t know how to conceptualize. He can give you facts about different events, politics, numbers… but he can’t explain why.
He is just one example of a person who has savant autism. Until now, the reason unto why individuals experience this kind of defect is still not known. And up to this date, there is still no cure for it.
I admire the patience and effort Fran Peek gave to his son. Indeed it is not easy taking care of Kim 24 hours a day. And yet he did it anyway… out of his love for Kim. They worked hand in hand to inform the world about autism and be an example to those parents who has kids with autism.
Their story brought learning to me… Kim Peek, on his own way was able to make an important role in the world, because of him being autistic. He had opened people’s eyes to look at individuals with autism with respect and understanding. He did his part. And he was good at it.
If people like Kim Peek can make a difference, why can’t we do the same? In our own simple ways, we can make things happen.
2 comments:
I could dig my own grave! An hour every night. That'll make a difference :)
why dig your own grave, when you can do better than that? :)
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