Sixth Sense

When Travis was around seven or eight he found a baby bird on the ground. It must have fallen out of the nest or failed at it’s first attempt at flying. Travis picked up the baby bird and brought him to us. We told him that he could not keep the bird and we put it back in it’s nest. We hoped that the mama bird would be happy to have her baby back.

But Travis was not happy.

Afterwards Travis was sitting on the curb in front of our house sulking. A woman walking by on the sidewalk stopped and asked him if he was ok. Travis proceeded to tell her the story of the baby bird and how we would not allow him to keep it.

Amazingly enough she happened to be bird sitting for a friend. And the friend never picked up the bird. Hmm. She asked Travis if he would like to have it.

What do you say to your child who was heartbroken earlier that day over not being able to keep the wild bird? And minutes later a stranger comes by and offers him a free bird, cage and all.

These are the kinds of experiences we have had and continue to have with Travis. Mostly because he knows no strangers and talks to everyone!

So, we became the proud owners of Tweetie. The cage was disgusting. Travis and I went shopping for a new one. Eighty dollars later Tweetie had a new home full of toys.

We did not have any background information on Tweetie. We did not know anything about his demeanor or how old he was. Turns out Tweetie was not a very nice bird. Travis tried several times to interact with and hold Tweetie. After getting bit several times Travis lost interest in Tweetie bird. And so Tweetie became my pet and my responsibility.

One day I heard a thrashing noise coming from the cage. Tweetie was struggling at the bottom of the cage, unable to get up. I was immediately worried. Not so much for the bird that bit me regularly. But for Travis. Even though he no longer tried to play with Tweetie, I knew he would take it hard if he lost his friend.

Travis came home from school and immediately upon walking in the door asked what was wrong with Tweetie. He ran to the cage and saw him lying on the bottom.

I have shared with many people over the years that I believed Travis had a sixth sense. And I always use the Tweetie story as one of my examples. One of Travis’s therapists explained to me that individuals with sensory processing disorders are extremely sensitive to the world. They sense things that others don’t, whether it be smell, hearing, or even another sense. She believed that when Travis walked in that day he sensed something different. Maybe he didn’t hear a regular sound? Maybe it was an unusual smell. But he sensed that something was not right. (Umm, yes. Just like I said. He has a sixth sense!)

We tried to nurse Tweetie back to health. Tried to get him to drink water with an eye dropper. Tried to hand feed him. Tweetie died on Christmas Eve. We put him in a box and wrapped it with some beautiful foil Christmas giftwrap. We held a service for him before we celebrated Christmas.

A day or two later Tracy and Travis were running errands. They stopped at a pet store. Apparently my husband was less experienced than I when shopping with children in tow. He must not have known that you never take them to a toy store and you especially never take them to a pet store! Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from Tracy asking what I thought about Travis getting a new bird. Seriously? With Travis by his side. I clearly couldn’t say no. If I did it would have been all on me! (I called mom and now we are leaving without a bird!) So I told Tracy to tell Travis that I said it was up to dad. How sly was that?

Travis and Tracy came home with a cockatiel. Travis named him Sonic. Travis had him ride on top of his remote control cars, even down the stairs! Sonic also rode on top of the remote control boat in my bathtub. Sonic would get soaking wet. One day I tried to take Sonic from the tub back to his cage. I thought he would be grateful. Instead he squawked unmercifully until I brought him back to the boat. Sonic dances when you sing to him. (Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow...) And he gives kisses.

Travis and Sonic are still buddies. Eighteen or so years later.

Studies show that children on the autism spectrum have significant symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder. Poor sensory processing can affect all developmental areas; cognitive, social/emotional, motor, speech and language, and adaptive.

But you are also more sensitive to the world. And sometimes that means you notice something the rest of us miss.

Although we were still years away from an autism diagnosis, we could see the sensory issue becoming more pronounced.

“The things that make me DIFFERENT are the things that make me ME!” - Piglet

Travis holding the wild bird that fell out of it’s nest.

Tracy took Travis to the pet store and they came home with Sonic. They are still the best of friends, I think it’s 18 years later now.