Wild Wyat

So, this kid. Wyat. I don't know what his deal is, but I wish I did. I think he's in 2nd grade (he's in a class with mixed grades). So, we're all sitting in our friendly music circle, playing the name game so Ms. Lashley can learn everyone's names. You say your name and something you like that starts with the same letter, and clap the rhythm as you talk. Pretty simple concept, but the clapping part is just challenging enough that the students are actually working on something. As we go around the circle, I'm noticing that Wyat has the tendency to ignore the directions not to talk while classmates are doing their thing, and not to yell out comments about what your classmates say, so much that I'm tempted not to give this Wyat a turn (notice how I know his name long before I ever get to him. Don't think I'll have trouble forgetting it either). So I get to Wyat. He says his name, but is stuck on what thing he likes that starts with the same letter. And so, as we (my co-op and I) had done before, we open the floor for suggestions. Nothing the other students suggest is workable for Wyat. In fact, he responds to each of them with a blunt 'no'. Actually, more like an angry 'NO!' I'm thinking like, whoooooooaaaa dude, cut the 'tude, it ain't cute. My reaction is definitely registering on my face, and I'm searching my brain for the appropriate response, when my co-op jumps in and says, 'Well Wyat, what about....?' and makes a suggestion of her own. I'm thinking, 'What?! Dude needs a serious reprimanding, not more suggestions!' Wyat continues to defy, then finally, in a big angry flounce, turns to back the circle, folding his arms with an evil scowl. Ms. Alford whispers something like 'Maybe I pushed him too much' and then motions for the next student to take his turn. Meanwhile, my mind is still reeling, wondering what the heck is going on here, and does she expect me to coddle that kind of behaviour.

So after class, I ask her what's the deal with Wyat. She said he's actually come a long way, that when he first came, he had to wear headphones in music class because he'd go into a tantrum from sensory overload...So apparently, having the other students make suggestions one after the other may have been too much for him. I don't know, man...Wyat didn't seem like he was having an overload, it pretty much just looked like a kid whose learnt to be rude and get away with it, although I can't discredit what my co-op was telling me.

So. Ok. Clearly has issues. What they are exactly, I may never know, with all the confidentiality riggamaroll. Scrolling through my memory for tidbits from the course on special-ed, I remember the whole sensory overload thing being associated with some cases of autism, guess I'll watch to see if any other indicators pop up with Wyat, although I guess knowing the exact diagnosis isn't as important as just knowing what to expect and how to deal with it if/when it happens. I wonder what the other students know, and what they gather from watching him behave like that in class. Do they think he's a little different & operates on different rules? Do they think the same behaviour would be acceptable from them? Do parents and educators stunt a child's emotional and social development by not expecting more? By allowing them to operate by different rules in the midst of supposedly standard parameters?

I dunno, man...I dunno...