Two things Id like to share: 1. Not every moment of a childs life needs to be a teachable moment. 2. Dont always assume you need to add to a conversation you were not invited to participate in. While waiting for Hayden to get out of school yesterday, one of his classmates from his autism class and his autism teacher were out front waiting for the boys grandma to come pick him up. She asked him if he knew what color his grandmas car was, and he told her it was white. Meanwhile, a young lady was coming up to the school. She heard the little boy telling his teacher about the color of his grandmas car being white, and thought this would be a good time to: 1. Teach him something she thought he needed to know, and 2. butt in a conversation she wasnt invited to participate in. So, she precedes to tell this autistic boy that white is not a color. Imagine how well that went over with him. When he defended his choice of color, she actually stood in the doorway, arguing with him that it was not a color, but an absence of color. Im sure she walked away feeling pretty good about herself, teaching that kid that he was wrong about his colors. Meanwhile, hes upset, confused, and probably a little angry at this stranger that thought it would be a good idea to argue with a child she has no idea about, a child that has a hard time gauging his emotions, a child with autism. The saying, It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Nailed it!
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:49:11 +0000