Let's Pretend

Children with Autism are typically not good at imaginative play. We have been working with Micah on this for a while. He mimics what we teach him, but I have never seen him play pretend without having first learned how. This mimicking is what makes it difficult for some to see the Autism.

Micah is great at learning. He knows there are things he is supposed to do and once he learns a process, he will do what he is supposed to do. For example, saying hi to people. He is learning that when someone says hi, you say hi back. Now, he doesn't always look at the person he is talking to and he still likes to say bye to people from the car, but he is learning.

I wasn't a big imaginative play kid. It made no sense to me why I was supposed to pretend to be a baby doll's mother. I liked to throw it in the air and see how many times I could make it flip. So, I have to make a point to pretend with Micah. (This is another reason I am glad he is in school)

The other day Micah and I were watching Avatar. (The Last Airbender...not the blue people.) We like to cuddle up and watch cartoons. Anyway, Micah pointed to himself and said, "I am Aang."

Aang is the main character. He was born into the Air Tribe and can bend air. He is also the Avatar. Only the Avatar can bend all 4 elements. Air, Water, Earth, Fire.

I was happy to hear Micah say that he was Aang. That showed original imaginative play. (He came up with it on his own.)

Yesterday, he blew me away.

He had his blanket and was moving it around like a ribbon dancer and saying, I'm Aang the Avatar. I'm an air bender! He was pretending to bend earth, fire, and water as well. He told me I was Katara. (Aang's friend. She is a water bender) He decided that Chris would be Sokka, but since Sokka isn't a bender Micah said that Chris could bend earth.

We didn't make a huge deal of it. We played with him, but didn't cheer him on or act like it was anything different. I think it is important for Micah to do things for himself and not for constant praise. There is a fine line between encouraging you child and praising every little thing they do. I don't want him to become overly dependent on praise. I'd hate for him to feel like there isn't a point in doing something unless someone is there to clap for him. I may be over thinking it, but oh well.

I'm so excited that Micah played pretend. It shows he is learning and understanding things that are a little tricky for him. The playtime lasted about 20 min and he had a lot of fun. It is great to see him grow.

Have a great week,
jozlin