Emmett came home from school today in a really good mood. This was a pleasant surprise because he had to go to school without Elliott and doesn't always do okay with that.
When Emmett climbed into the car after existing the school, he said *Dad, I need you to interpret something for me. *
Emmett will sometimes do this when he doesn't understand an interaction he's had with someone. Social cues aren't always his thing, much the same as many others on the Autism spectrum.
Turns out the issue was pretty simple.
Someone in his class is having a birthday party and Emmett got an invitation. He was clearly excited but also troubled at the same time.
Emmett says he doesn't think everyone in the class was invited. He overheard his teacher say something about invitations not being given to everyone.
I tried talking to him about how he felt about some people being left out. That's not necessarily something that Emmett would be able to express.
I asked him how he thinks the kids who didn't get invited would feel? He wasn't sure how to answer that because he's very logical and doesn't know how they would feel because he's not them.
I tried another way.
After thinking for a minute about what to say, I asked Emmett how he would feel if he hadn't received an invitation but saw that other kids in the class did? I asked him if he would feel sad.
He responded in true Emmett fashion. He simply said, *it would depend on who was having the party.*
I gave up at that point because I would need to sorta regroup and find a way to better relate this to him.
One of the things I want to do is talk to the school and find out what actually happened. Maybe Emmett misunderstood what was happening and everyone in his class was invited.
My question for you, my readers is this: *how would you handle a situation like this? Would you let your child go? What if others in the class were excluded and are aware they are being exc*luded?
Lizze and I talked briefly about this. We don't want to punish Emmett because his classmate didn't invite everyone. At the same time, I know what it feels like to be one of the kids left out and it's awful.
Obviously we don't do anything until I know more about what's going on but if Emmett is correct, and some in his class were knowingly excluded, do we just ignore that fact?
Keep in mind that this a charter school for kids with things like Autism and ADHD. So it's not like people are being singled out because of a disability or something like that. I don't know why people were excluded.
Anyway, I'm looking for input and feedback. Are we overthinking this? Do we make this a teaching moment and not allow him to go because others in his class were excluded?
Please leave your comments below..
