A charming rhyme for children who cannot yet read, offering a gentle and constructive way to understand what autism means when a classmate lives with it. The rhyme is paired with a brief, clear, concrete guide for teachers and parents—practical suggestions for framing autism and shaping educational work. For those wanting to dig deeper, there's a full and current bibliography.
Shells and buckets, rakes and sand,
castles and shovels, all by hand,
Some chase a kite across the air,
and some kick a ball here and there.
At the beach there are children galore
who drive the lifeguards crazy for sure.But Francesco does not play:
we need to figure out his way.
He repeats things over and over,
till his mother finally gets it, the rover.
It takes patience to understand
that you can still play with him, hand in hand.He copies movements without end,
but sleep won't come round the bend.
Francesco fears the whole wide world,
as if darkness had unfurled.
If you hold him in your embrace
he feels trapped in that space.Like a shell that locks him in,
you can see how scared he's been.
His feelings he cannot say,
but every child can find the way.
He says and says and does what he's done.
It's not his fault—he can't have fun:there's an illness that stands in his way.
The doctor says, "Do not dismay.
There is no cure yet, it's true,
but affection will see him through.
Every child has love to share,
and that's the greatest gift of care."Of course, children have minds so bright
and know how to open their sight.
With trying and trying, day after day,
Francesco too will find his way.
And if he can't leave his shell behind,
with everyone's help, he'll improve in mind.It takes love and solidarity,
and something will come to be.
And even if we cannot mend it all,
there's always something to gain from the call:
the sincere smile of a special friend
is a treasure that has no end.