The importance of............Movies

There is a great story that was released by Autism speaks and picked up by National news. It involved a Father and son. The son , of course, has autism. The father discovered that by speaking in the voices of his sons favorite movie characters, he was able to communicate with him. What a break through, for this family. A relationship was able to grow, hope was given, lessons were learned and progress was made.  Those who know us well and came across this story immediately though of Robbie. Movies play a gigantic role in his life. They are his friends. They make him feel safe, happy or sometimes sad. I have mentioned in past posts that broccoli is the only vegetable Robbie will eat. Every time he eats it, he mentions one of two movies where broccoli was consumed.  If I want to ensure he brushes his teeth well, I will start singing the song from The Muppet movie, where they are brushing teeth. We were looking at book this morning before school. I asked him to name an object in the book. Soccer ball- was the object. This turned into an entire script of a Backyardigans episode regarding soccer monsters and lost soccer balls. However, he did ask me if I wanted to play.
Lately, the most rewarding times are when I have all three kids in the car and the Frozen soundtrack plays in the background. I say in the background because between Lexi and Robbie, it can barely be heard. Of course a five year old girl singing Let it go, is "the norm" these days. But to hear Robbie's voice and see the smile on his face- he is participating in an activity that he has not been able to in the past.


Of course moving forward we're always looking for movies where healthy foods are eaten and important life lessons are learned. Decent soundtracks are a bonus because Mommy can only listen to "Let it Go" so many times before sanity will be in jeopardy.