Rescuing the Metaphor for Children

I was able to meet and talk to a wonderful mom about her son who has Asperger's Syndrome. What a wonderful little face! I have an opportunity to work with him weekly to develop thinking skills through poetry and literature. I'm hoping that other Christians will help raise the alert on this growing trend with our children. After reading from a different mom's testimony that her AS son declared through tears, "I'm the stupidest thing God ever created on this planet!" The mother and son broke down and she brought her son home for his schooling. I'm hoping that a I might help this child to never feel this dispair. God loves these children, and loves how they think.  As Christians, we will need to help them develop their thinking skills (whether as teachers, counselors, tutors or just loving parents and grandparents) so God's Word may be read and His Will be done.  A primary characteristic of Asperger's is the inability to understand metaphorical language.
Much of the therapy time in school and at counselor's offices is spent on communication and social functioning. A wonderful Greenwood therapist told me there was not enough time or research money devoted for mental /thinking development as in language arts. A child (now 1 in 88) will not be able to grasp the heart of God's Word without understanding metaphorical language.
This problem worsens for the child as he grows, if not purposely developed.
God continually paints pictures when He speaks in his Word, I pray the next generation will have the ability to read it.  A classical approach with Charlote Mason methods can work for these children, though the thinking steps need to be broken down in very singular logical steps so the connections of thinking can be built through language not picture cues.  We can help build a solid foundation for reading and reasoning for these children if we each take an interest in God's little ones.  In the past, I have spent energy in presenting Philosophy for Children programs and higher order thinking skills and proposing a classical education with families and children I meet.  However, if a child is unable to grasp the metaphor -- the major foundational thinking tool -- then the rest of my efforts are worthless.  Help raise the alarm on this frightening development in the battle for our children.  When thoughts are not developed, and conceptual connections are not made during the growing years; the child's brain cells are actually affected in the way they spark thoughts and understanding.  The enemy is currently winning in his dirty little secret battle for our children's minds.  Link this post to your fb pages if you'd like to raise awareness for our Asperger's and Autistic children.