AUTISM | WRITING | LIFE | CHILDREN’S BOOKS | FICTIONS

Chicken Shoes

Finding Comfort In The Familiar

When I find shoes I like, I often buy more than one pair because it seems that manufacturing and marketing are always looking for something new. I like for things to be the same, especially things that are as close and personal as clothing.

A well-worn flannel shirt is ideal, and these shoes, my Chicken Shoes, are the best. I wear them whenever I go outside to take care of my chickens or simply to sit and talk with them. We live in a small city surrounded by much bigger cities. They can’t have chickens in their backyards, but we can. I never want to move from here.

Tactile Sensitivity

It is a real thing. It doesn’t have anything to do with allergies. Instead, it’s when your clothes don’t “feel right.” Some autistic people like me may experience it. Some chickens do too, I think. There are some that don’t like being picked up and held, but my Gracie and Amelia do.

But people with good taste can experience tactile sensitivity too. Double-knit polyester is a good example.

In the 1970’s, I was in high school. That was when double-knit polyester was very fashionable — and very uncomfortable. It wasn’t just the static electricity in cold weather. It was also the feeling of being wrapped in lifeless plastic like a pound of hamburger. Together, those two things caused an unceasing war against my comfort.

There is nothing “right” about the feeling of double-knit polyester. Nothing.

You will notice in the photo that my Chicken Shoes are heavy canvas with leather trim. They also have cotton shoestrings, not those strange synthetic ones that won’t stay tied.

My chickens think shoestrings are worms.

I Have Never Tied My Shoes Like “Good, Normal Boys” Do

Tieing shoes was not something that came easily to me. Up through the second grade, I counted on Michael, my best friend across the street, to tie my shoes for me.

As it turns out, this is a skill that is difficult for many autistic children, but I didn’t know that when it really mattered. I would sit on the steps hoping Michael would be outside to come and tie my shoes so I could run and not trip.

He was the only one who ever thought to get behind me and show me how it was done as if he was me. Everyone else would be in front of me when showing me, but of course that was totally upside-down and backwards from my perspective.

You will notice in the photo that my Chicken Shoes are still tied. When I get them tied really well, I like to leave them tied.

Why Am I Telling You All of This?

I write and illustrate fiction for children (grades 3 through 6), and what I create is mainly about my chickens.

While chickens don’t ever need to learn to tie shoes, they do have other challenges. Many of those are challenges we all face. Finding a purpose in life. Losing friends. Facing fears. Striving to succeed. After all, chickens are social animals, just like people.

I am not particularly good at making up original characters, and so I write about my chickens as truthfully as I can, though sometimes my imagination does get the best of me. Together we discuss every word that is published about them. They are my primary editors.

Pearl is a favorite characters for many children who read my work. She is quite funny and clever, but because she is often clumsy, she has never been what the other chickens consider to be “a good, normal chicken.” Mishaps seem to follow her.

She also does many things children would do, especially autistic children. For example, she likes to collect things like colorful scraps of paper. She enjoys spreading them out and arranging them because that makes her feel calm. But she also creates truly amazing things with those scraps of colorful paper.

I think Pearl has so many fans because her stories tap into concerns that most of us have at one time or another about being able to fit in with a group. With all of her failed attempts, Pearl never gives up hope of one day figuring it all out. Until then, she continues to shine simply by being herself.

But I don’t think it’s just children who are helped by my stories about Pearl. She has almost as many grown-up fans. Grown-ups need Pearl’s inspiration too.

Pearl never gives up. When she doesn’t know what else to do, she does something so silly that no one can stay angry at her. That is my adorable Pearl.

It is easy to write about her because I am probably a lot like her. Perhaps so many of our readers love her because they see themselves in her life as well.

We all find comfort in the familiar.

Will I be able to keep my promise to have the word “chicken” at least once in every Medium story? Find out by subscribing to Medium today as a reader or writer — or both!