Behind the Pages - Sandcastles

When Holden runs, his feet never touch the ground. At least that's how it looks in every picture his mom takes.

Ashton has his own definition of a mile, and his own way to enjoy the races - usually with pretzels on his fingers.

These two guys were the inspiration behind my first screenplay, Sandcastles, which was written in less than eight weeks for a screenwriting class I took as part of that Bachelor's degree program in English and Creative Writing. It was without a doubt my favorite class, and Sandcastles was the first piece I've ever written that I was in love with from the start and couldn't wait to show the world.

When I was an elementary music teacher, I had a 30-minute class with 12 children on the autism spectrum. Each of them was completely unique - some loved to dance, others preferred to sit in silence. One was fascinated with the ukulele, another enjoyed coloring to music. I had three teacher's aides in the room to ensure we could keep all the kids engaged and safe. It was my favorite class each week.

One day as I was bouncing from student to student, teaching "in their language" as best I could, I watched a little boy named Kevin scribbling madly on the chalkboard. He looked like a little mad scientist in his Harry Potter spectacles, so fiercely intent upon his work. I kneeled down beside him. "You have a story to tell, don't you?" I asked. The scribbling stopped as if I'd unplugged him, and he turned to look at me with wide eyes. "Yes," he whispered, and then turned back to the board and kept right on telling that story, in his own language.

Since then, I've known that children with autism are not lessened or limited by it. It's those of us who are not a part of that spectrum who are at a loss to understand the world the way they do. We can catch glimpses every now and then, if we're faithful in our efforts to learn from them.

When I became friends with Holden and Ashton's mom, through I Run 4 of course, I followed Ashton's journey with autism, and Holden's role as his younger big brother. As I imagined the storyline for my screenplay, characters evolved who shared some of these characteristics. There's something magical about pretzel hands for Ashton, just like the sandcastles for my main character, Cadie. In the screenplay, and the novel version coming out later this year, we get to see the world as Cadie sees it, because she trusts her brother enough to let him in. I'm pretty sure Holden understands Ashton's world in this way.

Photo by Mamie Spears, MSpears Photography, Chesapeake, VA

www.mspearsphotography.com

Photo by Jennifer McCormick

Photo by Jennifer McCormick