Connection through Jigsaws

From one of our chaplains:

I have been working with a student at our secondary college with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Let’s call this student William.

William would come into the wellbeing office at recess and lunchtimes but not really interact; they would sit in a corner by themselves, crying.

One day we had a jigsaw puzzle lying on the table. William’s eyes lit up and ever since then, William has come into the office skipping, chatting with people, and happily working on the jigsaw of the week.

Many other students find comfort and calm working on the jigsaw as well and we are seeing people connect who usually would barely look at each other.

We have received many puzzles from community members so that we can keep this initiative going. It was an unexpected find, but a major turning point for William along with benefits for many others!