I was raised catholic. In my early teens my parents began going to a charismatic church. My grandmother was dying of cancer and they were praying for a miracle.

I took to going to church with them. I was undiagnosed autistic and I was always looking for a place to belong and a people who would accept me. The church looked like a good thing.

One evening when the entire congregation waved their hands in the air and chanted nonsense syllables, I was struck. An electric feeling pulsed through my body and my tongue began moving on its own. I was repeating a handful of nonsense syllables that sounded like jazz scatting. I'm from New Orleans so I know what jazz scatting sounds like. People hugged me and prayed over me. At last I felt like I belonged somewhere.

However, I was also known as eccentric. That's what they call autistic behavior when they don't know you're autistic. After a few weeks the honeymoon was over and I was cast to the sidelines again.

I still think it sounds like jazz scatting.