The fruit garden and my autistic son

My autistic son didn't feel happy at school.
He was very aware of the chaos around him:

• the sounds:
  of other children, moving chairs, wind against the windows
• the lights
  of the harsh lamp, the sun through the window, the refection in a mirror or something iron
• the colours
  which were everywhere around him
• the temperature
  that changed whenever someone entered of left the classroom, and the draft that was caused by opening the main door
• etc.

Whenever he had the chance he took off and went to the fruityard nearby.
There he sat in the grass, or leaned against a tree.
Soon he got calm and even a bit happy, but when the principal came to him he felt afraid and started to scream.
Then they would call me.

In the beginning I didn't understand why he went to the fruityard and felt calm there.
The birds were making lots of noise, the wind could be heard whisepring through the grass and the trees would move and with strong winds even bend, casting large shadows on the earth and allowing the sun to blind the eyes whenever the wind went quiet.

Soon, however I understood.

In the fruityard everything was in balance.
My son didn't experience nature as an outward experience, but he became part of it.
And thus he could rest against the tree and feel it move without being burdened by it.

What a pity his schoolmaster was never able to understand this.