Jack's Playroom Stories #2

From Jack:
Hi there friends!

So here is one of my special playroom moments from this week! Over the last few days I have been lucky enough to spend time playing with the CUTEST little 3 year autistic boy from Canada, here at the Autism Treatment Center of America. He has black messy hair, deep brown eyes and the sweetest smile in the world. Today, as we were approaching the end of his session he decided to start crying, really quite loudly. Now, having been trained in The Son-Rise Program, my first thought wasn't "Oh no! My friend is unhappy!" but instead "Hmmm, my friend is trying to tell me he wants something in the best way he knows how. How can I help him tell me more effectively?"

S0 I went over to this little munchkin and said "Hey, I love you but I don't know what you want. Why don't you take a deep breath and tell me what you want?" and he took a breath and said "Open!"

Now even though the door still wasn't going to open, I felt so proud of my friend! He, in that moment, had decided not to cry and to communicate with me in the most effective way: using his language! As a Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator I really view children crying as a wonderful gift - a chance to show them the beautiful power of using their language versus crying. I encourage everyone out there with children on the autistic spectrum to delight in their children when they choose to cry and think "I have a beautiful opportunity to help my child TELL me what they want."

With love and smiles to you all

Jack