Different Rivers, Same Bridge
“Oh, this is wonderful!” Anne beamed at the two children playing in the middle of the floor. “He’s never had someone meet him where he is like this!”
20260712
Prompt from Eiiri’s Prompt Foundry, “Pride 2 Disability Boogaloo”.
“Oh, this is wonderful!” Anne said earnestly, beaming at the two children playing in the middle of the floor. “He’s never had someone just, just meet him where he is like this!”
“Neither has Isla.” Nellie managed a smile. “I suppose they’ve got enough common ground to overlook the other being, um, having quirks.”
Anne shot her a surprised glance. “Do you have trouble with playing too, then? I would’ve thought… I mean, she can understand other children, can’t she?”
“Yes, but… they’re not inclined to be patient with her.” Nellie said quietly. “Even when they’re not deliberately excluding her, she ends up… drifting to the edges. Playing by herself.”
Her expression brightened as she looked back at the pair gleefully playing with the Simon Says toy. Noises and lights meant both could join in. And between them they were doing well.
They’d need to get the blocks and everything tidied away before Billy went home, but it wasn’t like a serpentine queue of toys criss-crossing the entire living room was unusual. And well worth it in this instance!
While Billy had seemed confused by Isla’s method of playing with blocks, after watching for a minute he started building in the gaps between the loops. Maybe he thought she was laying out a river, or something. Either way, Isla had responded by making sure the loops were big enough for Billy to stack blocks in, and soon the living room had a… set of occupied islands? A collaborative art project? Whatever it was, fun had been had, and the children were sharing well.
Maybe because being able to sign what you needed made negotiations so much easier!
“Could you send me that app you mentioned?” Anne asked. “Just tapping buttons ought to be easier for him, when dealing with adults who don’t sign.”
“Of course!” Nellie said readily. “And he can have a go on Isla’s, let you both see what icons are available and everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, but first…” Nellie glanced at her watch. “Isla always watches Floppy Bun with her snacks. I, um, I figured out how to turn the captions on, but I don’t know how good they are. Will Billy be alright watching?”
“He should be. He loves watching stuff at home. Let me just…”
Anne leant forward and waved vigorously, catching Billy’s attention, then explained - and Isla eagerly joined in on the signing to extol the narrative wonders and artistic integrity of Floppy Bun. Mostly by signing “Yes! Bun! Fun! Favourite!” over and over.
Thankfully Billy was amenable. Being handed his box of snacks probably helped. And at least he wasn’t going to be annoyed about Isla wordlessly, tunelessly singing to herself through the entire episode. That was another habit most children just didn’t get, or have much patience for. But it was how she expressed that level of joy.
Isla did need to be reminded that Billy had to watch closely, so couldn’t sign with her during the episode. But once it finished he happily chatted away with her around finishing snacks. Asking about characters, and telling her about his favourite show, and all sorts of normal conversation which filled both watching parents with glee.
Only once Isla was showing signs of overwhelm did they call a halt - it would be a terrible shame for such a fun afternoon to be marred by a meltdown. And for once Isla was actually reluctant to say goodbye and snuggle down in her cocoon!
“You have to come again.” Nellie said earnestly. “This has been such a delight!”
“Oh, don’t worry, I was about to say the same!” Anne assured her warmly. Gently rocking Billy on her hip; he was getting very sleepy. “I’ll message you and we’ll sort out another visit. And, um, you’re welcome to come to ours?” She glanced uncertainly at the various sensory gear. “But if that’ll be a hassle, we’re fine coming here. Honest.”
“That… would probably be easier.” Nellie gave a sheepish smile.
“Are you sure you don’t need help cleaning up?”
“No, no - honestly, I’d like to get some photos.”
“Well… alright then. We’ll get out of your way, and I’ll send you a message about next time.” Anne freed a hand to sign “Say goodbye”, and Billy dutifully waved, his tired face splitting in a huge grin. Isla returned both.
Yes, there was adjusting and learning to be had on all sides, but everyone involved dearly hoped this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Prompt was “Nonverbal”.