Quote:
Originally Posted by margaretmattson
Years ago, I was told he had autism by a woman serving drinks in one of the huts. She gave me quite a long story about how long she has known him and had witnessed outbursts and unusual repetitive behavior. (usually associated with unexpected loud noises and music) Other than noise, she said he is harmless. If that information is incorrect, I stand corrected. Did not seem like the woman was someone who liked to gossip. Came off as someone who was concerned for another.
Autistic people are extremely intelligent and able to function. They repeat a behavior over and over because they cannot get it out of their head. You said it yourself in your post. People try to get him to stop but he just smiles at them. That is the nature of the disease. He is unable to control his behavior impulse. And, can not recognize that his behavior is odd or extreme. Music and/or noise sets his brain off. A normal person would stop the behavior when hundreds of people have asked him to do so.
This was the point of my post. Don't just discard someone and make requests to have them banned from the square without knowing about them first. I used the words severe mental problems because that is how it was relayed to me. She used the words severe autism.
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No they're not trying to "get him to stop." They're shaming him and making nasty remarks, INSTEAD of trying to get him to stop. He CAN control himself. This is his method of expression. He can step away from it, or sit down, or not show up, or listen to the music in his own house instead. But this is his expression of joy. Just like my expression is to jump out of my seat and dance, without making noise, his is to dance and make noise. He does not have severe autism. Severe autism would be an inability to connect with other people at all, make eye contact, or have physical touch between themselves and other people, and is usually accompanied by being non-verbal, and the LOUD noise and crowds of the squares would be a total overload for someone who is severely autistic. They wouldn't be capable of existing in such an environment. Mark seeks it out and comes here on his own, on purpose, because he enjoys the music, and the crowds, and connecting with other people.
I think maybe you've never actually had a conversation with Mark. I really hope you are able to catch him walking to Publix some day, and invite him for a short chitchat at the table outside, and get to know him. He'll lighten your day. He is a very precious soul.