Preface

Like the albatross flies majestically, so Christian has taught me the dignity of thought, with which each of us can live the deeper freedom. When I met him the first time, about two years ago, the presence of Francesca assured him in front of me, stranger. They, the autistic, do not trust doctors. They feel like the albatross and the poets, exiled in a land without borders, between space and time. In these parts you are free, without the constraints of physical laws that impose the relativity of the world. Christian lives the separation between his freedom and the obligation of the matter. We "normal" give a representation of reality based on sensory perceptions consistent with the presumption that it is the only possible one. Christian lives a reality, "transparent" in a direct manner, without representation. Thus, it seemed, also happens to others, who share with him the drama of a separate existence. The failed attempt to mimic our perception is expressed with the use of techniques required, devastating as ineffective. Saliva, the counts, the stereotype in general, are at the last minute appeals that we "normal" call autism. In the dream does not exist, according to Christian, the need to represent reality with the sense organs. Through these activities, the mind moves in absolute harmony with the knowledge of a will is not separated from action. In the dream

Christian lives directly to his experiences, so as to fortify the same determination that it needs during non-dream. Not only. The views, commitment, and also the emotions, hopes, poetry, language, as many have actually lived in the free movement of ideas dream. Most information comes from the dream. Christian says he is "recourse to the stars" when he wants me to answer some pressing questions. I know I would not give to these resources for autism. But the albatross is also the suffering of all those who are and have been ridiculed by the assumption of "normal". It is the suffering of those who lived, always the drama of inner wealth that does not meet the adequate and coded representation. Many of them have led the entire arc of his life without anyone ever got wind of their deep humanity. The "deviant" had to be studied and considered cured only by the parameters of the "norm". Facilitated communication with the Christian puts in question our certainties, and faces the reality of the "normal" describing the composition, including strengths and weaknesses. The linearity of thought, together with the coherence of ideas and the determination with which they are expressed, point directly to the discomfort we feel in the face of irrational and unpredictable metaphors of autism.

The silence of autism, as taught by Christian, may serve to make the voice of the soul to us "normal" ..

Dr. Micozzi Angel

My meeting with Christian Moretti goes back many years ago, was sick and could not figure out what he thought of his mother and then consult a pediatrician why, maybe a doctor used to working with patients who do not communicate, could solve the problems the young boy.

It was not easy to visit Christian: I always went to his house and he was opposed to visits, he got up and wanted to go away, every time was an exercise in patience.

Normally, these candies in my bag help to overcome the concerns of young patients, but only liked to Christian roasted peanuts, and so, before going to his house, every time I tried to obtain supplies of his favorite whim.

To get maximum results in a pediatric visit, you must establish a relationship of peace and quiet without haste and violence, only patience and sweetness of speech and their facial expression, not to pretend ever, because the baby is empathetic and immediately warned if the 'adult who manipulates it is friend or foe.

Well despite all of my availability, I left the house of Christian always with a feeling of discomfort, uneasiness, because I never seemed to be able to tell my "to be good with him."

A few years ago I happened upon a short little article in the magazine distributed to the pediatricians' Italian Federation of Paediatricians Doctors "which referred to the puzzling developments of a new type of approach to the young autistic patient: facilitated communication.

I immediately get a copy of the article the mother of Christian, and so broke the "bomb" in the house Moretti Christian was in a shipwreck, was for many years on a desert island and overnight began to upsetting, in a positive way, the life of this happy family. (I always say that she is the director of the orchestra from the family and I can testify that the mother was Christian and is a great conductor).

Christian as you can read in this book, he is a curious, intelligent, rather, it expresses the concepts and ideas of the beautiful, is completely different from what is his appearance.

Immediately after the outbreak of the "bomb" Christian wrote me a letter (I attach the text) that I always carry in the pocket of my recipes, and reading it as you can well understand, these are the satisfactions of my life.

BARUCH Hashemite

Blessed be the Lord

So thank the jew S. and the mother of Christian, who is a teacher with many years in the Jewish school in Rome with so much love and zeal and my children can attest, you will surely agree.

Dr. Elijah Jhonas child neuropsychiatrist (Dr. Jonas are Jewish: being very observant considered it appropriate to thank the Lord for this "miracle" of CFnella its original language)

21/5/97

MY DOCTOR PAEDIATRICIAN JONAS

Dear jonas I love you to express my esteem for you that people care so new and so far very special

I say special because it uses new methods without bias

Only you understand me and you believed in me since I was little

About when I was little I remember that your presence made me feel better even before I came I was hoping to avoid ill

I see you * hat and an eye and your smile are especially grateful to you for introducing me to write

Without you I would be even

A boy with no sky A heart without a voice

A diamond without light

Your patient special salutes you and thanks you all

soon

christian moretti

* Christian has a partial view seen in fragments as explained later in this chapter: "sensory disturbances"

Christian is a young 34 year old autistic.

How many attended the school, but did not arrive at the middle school, seems incapable of learning and the trail did not seem possible. Christian does not speak. His family then sent to a day care center for handicapped children of Rome. During our first meeting took place three years ago, I was impressed by the absolute lack of initiative that made him unfit motor with a simple gesture as an indication. I made suggestions to the mother to try to develop this expertise and from this "family work" Christian has begun to indicate some unexpected volontariamente.Con has progressed rapidly in his communication skills with computer skills and in general praxic. It seemed sometimes that was not only the right stimulus, the tool to perform tasks of a certain complexity. It almost seemed to have given up acts engines. We have provided a means by which the Christian could begin to "try to" do and say. When did the real work on communication have emerged discrete and sometimes excellent cognitive skills. Christian then began to ask, asked, writing, to attend a normal school, has asked to be helped to improve.

Having obtained the secondary school had to attend with the help of the facilitator to night school. Obtained the license has been enrolled in a middle school again with the help of professional facilitation. To be facilitated by many in the communications and activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, etc..) Allowed him to quickly become more independent.

Today Christian communicates with me and with someone else without facilitation, with others with a good battery life (verbal solicitation, start engines of various types depending on the starter).

The contents of his communication is clear understandable and in time become, despite the usual habit of communicating in a concise or redundant features not only the rest of his productions, but those of most facilitated.

The rehabilitation has gone hand in hand with the rehabilitation of thought that began to enter into a relationship with the surrounding world by establishing different levels of cause-effect relationships: the thought was to become reality, was to be executed.

Addressing this issue was very important because it happens in people who have opted out or have never learned to communicate, Christian has begun to collide with the real difficulties: to go to school was to be able to control himself, to stay in school had to study , its slow time required him to work longer than their peers, had to struggle to get what it had set itself: things are not realized just because they were designed.

Here begins our delicate task, intended to help these children to place themselves in some way in life by coming to terms not only with the family, institutions and the community, but also with them, their desires, with their intentions.

What job do? With those who live in the future? How to capitalize on what can be done taking into account its condition?

The writings of Christian are interesting in themselves, but also because they are collected in this capacity in which you highlight the themes that make it so well thought of by an autistic.

Christian has not developed these arguments in theme, are contrary were divided retrospectively assembling recurring themes: the early writings, autism, stereotypic, headache, sensory disturbances, space and time reflections, love death and fear, humor, family, friends, social commitment, the school experience .... I think it is important to dwell on the fact that we are reading the writings of many ways that we understand well, for others there invite reflection on the world of a person who has lived and built for many years so "other", perhaps this is an interesting definition of autism.

Francesca Benassi

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Video presentation: The albatross' wings to fly "

RAI International director of Aurora Piras