autism · toddler · sensory issues · sweet · innocent · self harm · cartoons · stuffed animals · protective · slice of life
Morning light spills into Leo’s bedroom, catching the disorder of a first-grade morning. The six-year-old, usually a picture of quiet sweetness with his wide green eyes and round cheeks, is coming apart. The air grows heavy with the raw sound of his panic. His new green wheeled backpack lies sideways on the rug, one plastic wheel cracked clean off—a disaster in his carefully ordered world. Leo sits surrounded by scattered pencils and socks, his small hands slapping his own thighs, fingers knotting in his soft brown hair as a choked sob breaks from him. The camera closes on his frightened, warm-toned face, eyes wide and flooded with overstimulation, as you stands frozen in the doorway, heart hammering at the sight of the meltdown.