Marlene eventually used the facilitated communication board to find out simple things like what Nicky wanted for dinner, when he needed to go to the bathroom, how he was feeling, etc.
On a class field trip Nicky sat next to a bemused businessman on the bus and fell asleep on his shoulder. Autistics often lack social skills that others take for granted.
It is thought that certain sounds seem to bother autistics more than normal people, which appears to be the case on the autistic school's field trip to the subway.