Shelley and Lynette discuss at length the importance of improvisation and the attitude of ‘yes and’. This is a fundamental belief of theater groups using improvisation. Yes and means “accept the reality and add to it”. For example if the child says the blocks need to line up you can say “Yes and the chairs like it too.” Then follow that statement with the action of lining up chairs. Of course the next step is to create varied patterns and fun together but step on is always ‘yes and.’ And when the child adds a new thought like “No chairs are better in a circle.” You restate a new ‘Yes and shoes are best in a square.’ Etcetera.
THE GREAT GUEST GIVEAWAY guest is Ange Anderson with her new book Seren’s Christmas Encounter With Autism. As an author she uses the pseudonym Angela Morgan. The book is the third one in a series and perfect for families who want other’s to understand what family life is like when a member has autism.
Today’s question “Why show people autism?”
Today’s answer: “If you don’t show they don’t know.”
In Stories From The Road Lynette shares a story of the gift given through peer interaction, when a young girl, by virtue of her envy over a friend with autism, signals her own emotional challenges.