The Reluctant Pilgrim
Although people tend to give unsolicited opinions on parenting no matter what the situation, one piece of harmless and cute advice that people gave me regarding my oldest son is that kids on the spectrum tend to enjoy theater. "You should get him involved in drama!" they'd exclaim, especially given the rather energetic, boisterous personality he had as a toddler. Consider Joey Travolta's Inclusion Film Camps, one of which is hosted right here in the Bay Area at Saint Mary's College in Moraga. This program is quite a success.
It makes sense to me that kids who find it difficult to make friends might enjoy "trying on" a new personality by performing. To a quirky and logical kid, rejection of a made-up personality doesn't hurt because it is a character, not the actual person. Also, some kids on the spectrum might essentially have to "act" in real life: they adjust their behaviors according to what society expects of them. As they have practice performing every day, they find it easy to slip on yet another persona.
My son - called "The Cat" in the blogosphere - earned his nickname by pretending to be a cat. Sometimes he is a Pikachu pokemon. Sometimes he is Darth Vader. Or a baby. Or a rainbow blanket. (Yes, he becomes a blanket. And no, it isn't as quiet as you might imagine.)
But one thing that he does not want to be is a Pilgrim.
As part of the third-grade curriculum, the classes break out into "colonies" and have competitions. Sadly, it is the colony with the fewest dead people that wins. The idea is to provide the kids information about the "harsh realities" of what life must have been like. I'm dreading the day that my son comes home to tell me he "died." I hope he doesn't cry at school.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati