Ady’s Barracks – Nasir

Nasir is kind, affectionate, and determined. He has strong academic ambitions and has frequently been named an honor roll student at Epic Alternative Elementary. Nasir participated in equine therapy with a local enthusiast and also receives services from Early Autism Services and Glenwood Community Care.

Although Nasir is still learning to cope with certain emotions, we like to see him as an optimist. Even if technically non-communicative, his favorite phrases are “don’t worry!” and “what can we do now?”. Despite his positivity, we know to look for and be prepared for a mini-disaster whenever we hear one of these phrases.

Nasir knows his way around the city as he pays attention to every detail, on every trip. He knows his bus routes, his way to the Green Springs shopping district, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and his favorite pizza parlor, Little Caesar’s, in Five Points West. He is able to run very long distances and has a keen ability to identify landmarks. Nasir prefers the outdoors and is a natural explorer. He is also tenacious and very determined. If he has his heart set on something, he will acquire or accomplish it— no matter the obstacle. He has a keen sense of direction and fully understands what his intentions are, though he is unable to vocalize them.

Nasir, like many children with his diagnosis, is given to elopement. During the early days of Covid 19 Nasir, like so many others, was forced to spend an inordinate amount of time at home. Because he is unable to play safely in our yard, he is constantly in search of opportunities to express himself indoors, though such opportunities are limited.

On several occasions, Nasir has maneuvered his way outside, without our knowledge. He has outsmarted entry alarms, tracking devices, even the scrutinizing eyes of his family members. Nasir has become a Facebook celebrity, the subject of numerous “have you seen my parents?” posts. Thankfully, our community, officers, firefighters, and everyday citizens has proved to be an invaluable resource in helping us narrow down the general times that he’s prone to run away. The “running” joke is that he leaves on Sunday afternoons since dinner takes longer to prepare on that day! Nasir respects and feels safe around authority figures and emergency personnel— firefighters and officers. He understands that they are there to help him and to secure his safety. although we encourage those sentiments in our home, we would love to ease the burden on these officials by minimizing his opportunities to elope.

Nasir is our special boy. Unfortunately, Nasir was diagnosed later than is ideal, 4 years and 5 months. So it was (and often still feels like) a mad scramble to pull together resources for him. With few exceptions, he is cognitively delayed by about 7 years. That said, there are a few things that bring him complete joy— the ability to run outdoors is one of them. Turning 10 this year, he is incredibly fit and really fast; and thus difficult to catch if he takes off.

A fence would undoubtedly be a shift in his ability to explore the world for himself, and it would make a world of difference for our peace of mind, knowing that Nasir can explore the outside world within the safe confines his own yard.

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