I have mentioned before that H is really into Horror B Movies and that he is working on making one of his own. H is The kid who knows who Stanley Kubrick is: Dreaming Big.
He is always working on props and effects.
So… anyway – lately he is trying to work out how to make it look like he is injured, cut and bleeding – and it involves tape (but, of course!!) and sheet metal – and ketchup packages.
H is trying to figure out how to make fake skin over this… (and it looks like it might involve some sort of concoction of white glue mixed with acrylic paint… get out the drop cloth!)
And then tonight, as he is discussing and exploring possibilities and options with great enthusiasm this, he assures me and then queries: “Mom – this is not real – I will not get hurt – but I need to know… is this making you uncomfortable??
I thanked him for his sensitivity and for thinking about me. I let him know that I am interested in his project and I love his enthusiasm and problem solving. I also told him that it is not scary for me when I see what is going on behind the scenes.
What a sweetheart!
He knows I am a wimp…
Ya – too bad he doesn’t have any empathy!! [sarcasm]
And when I read this to H and asked if it was okay to post, our discussion went like this:
Me: “I am being sarcastic about the empathy part – right?”
H: “Ya…”
Me: “Do you know that sometimes people say Autistic people don’t have empathy?”
H: “Really?? – That’s bollocks!”
I absolutely love it that he responds with the perfect combination of disbelief and indignance… and I will be smiling about this for a long, long time! Yes!!
Related posts: • Ladybugs: Autism, Empathy, and Processing Grief • The kid who knows who Stanley Kubrick is: Dreaming Big • Inventing and visual/spacial thinking: Got Milk?? • Building Stilts and Resiliency___________________________________________________
30 Days of Autism is a project designed to fight stigma, promote civil rights, and increase understanding and acceptance for those who process and experience the world differently.
© Leah Kelley, Thirty Days of Autism, (2013)
Thirty Days of Autism 
Yeah LOVE the humour and delight in your child. Brilliant post.
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Thank you!
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I know that Forever Knight (a Canadian show about a vampire cop) used Ribena (blackcurrent juice, rather thick, most people have to dilute it in order to drink it) to simulate blood. You could always suggest that to H as an alternative to ketchup. (It’s thick, a liquid, and actually might look more like realistic blood than ketchup does – ketchup is rather a bit too bright.)
🙂 tagAught
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Oh my goodness! I am sure this will sound very strange out of context – but H has finally finished concocting his skin and I know he will be grateful for the realistic blood tip!! Thank you!
We are Canadian too – so we may have to check out the program as well… Thank you!!
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*grins* Forever Knight is available on DVD – all three seasons. If he likes semi-horror and/or cop shows, he’ll probably like it; it’s more cop show than horror, but the vampirism is heavily involved. (Except for the series finale at the end of Season 3. I don’t recommend *that* to *anyone*; it was an awful ruination of a good show.)
DIdn’t realize you were Canadian as well; mind if I ask your general area? I grew up and lived in Toronto until two years ago; I’m now in St. John’s, NL, where my mother’s family came from.
🙂 tagAught
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Ah… Cool! Soggy west coast here… near Vancouver. But… my daughter attended Memorial University for the past two years in St. John’s, NL, and a I do a pretty fair rendition of ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’. *grins back
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*grins again*
Happy Canada Day to you, your daughter and H!
🙂 tagAught
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Thanks… you too! Yay!
*hums ♫ O’ Canada… and waves tiny virtual flag with understated patriotism
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“Me: “Do you know that sometimes people say Autistic people don’t have empathy?”
H: “Really?? – That’s bollocks!”
I absolutely love it that he responds with the perfect combination of disbelief and indignance… and I will be smiling about this for a long, long time! Yes!!”
So happy to see that both you and H are dealing with a sometimes problematical world, with such a light touch.
That is the way to go. Facts established with minimal expenditure of personal resource. Chosen life progressed behind the coffer dam of established facticity. Good life balance and poise established. “Bollocks”: you got it H.
Regards H finding his own life way and vehicle, you might like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxkBqFbbAP0 . Strip out Scott’s biographical details, and just focus on his vision of “learning styles” to fit individual persons.
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Thank you, Colin. Yes, there are definitely times for H to dig deep and get involved and see the role he can play in issues of social justice, but there is also a resiliency and grit in the ability to quickly discredit and brush the ridiculous aside.
Thank you also for the link – we will check it out!
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