Drabble #28

[matril]

Today is exactly one year since Luke was officialy diagnosed with autism. It's been a tumultuous year, to say the least. A flurry of referrals and IEPs and a veritable dictionary of new terminology. PDD-NOS, Asberger's, Sensory Intetgration Dysfunction, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder... It's too much to absorb all at once, but I've had time. What has changed? I'm more used to the idea now, though of course I'll never be happy about it. I know not to expect that Luke will suddenly just burst into fluent speech or initiate play with others without any prodding. I haven't given up hope that he'll improve, though.

And he has improved, even after just a year. Socially, he's very friendly and sweet, though he still prefers play on his own. He makes eye contact and responds more often to his name. His language....I don't see much change. That's the really rough thing. Language can take a long, long time for autistic kids. I have to be patient. If there's one quality I've had to develop this year, it's been patience. And I have a long, long way to go.

Here's hoping next year will find us a little farther along, and a little more capable of being Luke's parents.

This bit here is something I'd like to eventually expand into a sprawling fic, a counterpart to Another Point of View. (Oh, I'm not over-ambitious, not at all.... ;) Apologies if the Gungan isn't perfect. :P
Exile
----
They barred his entrance when he tried to get back into Otoh Gunga.

Jar Jar stared at the guards, appalled. "Whatsa going on?" he asked fumblingly.

"Yousa failed da Gungans," the elder guard answered, contempt in his tone. "Wesa sent yousa to da Coruscant planet to make things better. But things are worse."

Having seen firsthand the Emperor's pronouncement, and then looking miserably at Padmé's lifeless form during the funeral last night, Jar Jar could hardly argue that point. Things were much, much worse. "But yousa blaming me?" he wondered incredulously. Some of what had happened was his fault. Maybe a lot of it. But not everything. His heart sank as he watched the guards' faces harden.

"We make friends with the Naboo. They say, everything will be good. Theysa wrong. The bosses say, wesa should never have been friends at all."

"No!" Jar Jar shook his head in horror. "Itsa not like that. Wesa need all the friends wesa can get."

"Yousa the one to get us mixed up in this." The elder guard glared at him, then pronounced, "Yousa no longer one of us."

Jar Jar could find no more words. He had seen that glaring look before, so many years ago, when he was banished for a stupid accident. They were determined; they wouldn't change their minds.

He thought he had put that all behind him. He had become a hero, or at least something better than a failure and an outcast. But now everything had come full circle.

Jar Jar bowed his head and turned away, seeing no future but the miserable, lonely life of an exile.
----

Comments

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

I also got a kick out of Jar Jar surviving ROTS (George's gift to the fanboys, heh heh) but the poor guy must've lived with incredible guilt, regardless of what the Gungans would do to him.

In any case, there are rejoicing Gungans in the 2004 DVD version of ROTJ :).

[matril.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like to think Jar Jar is present in the celebration scene - in my scenario, it would mean his people had finally forgiven him, which would be nice for the poor guy.