Story Telling

As I have mentioned in an earlier blog post, neither of my boys are self-proclaimed readers. I am more and more convinced that the elder is able to read more than he is willing to accept, let alone admit, as he continues to recover from the school and the 'reading recovery' programme he was prematurely placed in.
The younger, at 6, has never endured this process, so I anticipate seeing a more natural progression with his reading. He loves stories. The stories he prefers above all are those that are made up by his dad, or by himself. He has of late begun to enjoy some of the stories by Mr Roald Dahl, and has recently begun to comprehend that Fantastic Mr Fox, and Georges Marvellous Medicine, and The Twits, are ALL written by the SAME person.
None-the-less, he still prefers to create his own. He enjoys the creative process, and the degree of control he has in what happens, when he is the story teller. When Carl tells stories, he has begun to incorporate the tool of a die roll to determine what happens in a tale. The boys will each create a possible occurrence at Carl's prompting, and which one happens, is purely random, thus eliminating any cries of favouritism.
This has also seen a progression in K(6)'s storytelling. Over the last two days, he has been dictating the following to me:

The cover of the story written by K, entitled "Babs"

Babs

Once upon a time, there was a woman called Babs, who lived in her house, with two boys and a husband. Her husband was called Carl, but her boys called Carl "Daddy".
Her boys was called T_____ and K_____. Her son K____, loved monsters and fighting. Her son T______ loved to play Minecraft.

T______ was the oldest kid. Babs and Carl was forty, but Babs was older. It was a very happy family. K____ was making his new language, that he really liked. 

T___ Babs K_____

One day, when K____ was playing Minecraft, T_____ kept asking Babs if he could have one hour and a half of computer time, but he could not even have one second. T_____ got angry and snatched the computer from K____. After T_____'s computer time, that he had snatched from K____, K____ told Carl and Babs that T_____ had snatched his computer time.

So Carl put T_____ outside for three hours, and Babs gave K____ three hours of  extra computer time. K____ was very Happy.

When T_____ came inside, T_____ kicked K____ in the butt. K____ fell over and started crying.

After K____ had been crying for a little while, Carl came to ask K____ what had happened.

K____ said to Carl that T_____ had kicked him in the butt.

So Carl told Babs. Babs put T_____ outside for three hours, and gave K____ one hour of computer time.

When T_____ came in, Carl put him in his room for one and a half hours.

While T_____ was in his room, Carl read K____ a story. It was a Guild Wars Story.

The End

K____ asleep after the Guild Wars story read by Carl.

This is also an excellent sample of K(6)'s increasing ability to put himself in another's point of view, with his story being told about himself (despite the title of the story) in the third person, and giving  bits of information that might not be known by others, that he considers of import.

I am quite impressed with myself for simply taking the dictation, in order to see where he went with his tale. I really wanted to ask leading questions, and make constructive comments about his grammar (the remarkably few times it was needed).

I was particularly curious as to why he determined that the family was a happy one... particularly in light of the following antics with the mean big brother, and the apparently punitive parents. I suppose that as long as the punished was not K(6) himself, then it is all fine. He may be developing a sense of others' point of view, he is also, still very obviously 6 years old.

EDIT: It is now 20:14. Carl is reading this story to both boys. There is much giggling and laughing from both boys, from the point where T(9) kicks K(6) in the butt...

Fantastic

T(9) lives in a world very similar to, and yet sometimes quite removed from the one in which I live.

At one point, he was well on track to receiving a label containing the word Autism. I did not like that track, so we took him off it before he got the label. With a lot of work on our part, and co-operation from T(9), Carl and I have been able to facilitate a significant change in his neuro network. We support this with strategies that complement his learning style and needs to the best of our ability. As a result, T has grown from strength to strength.

Starting with ILT, then moving on to the superior HANDLE, and supported with Speech Language Therapy, our nervous, inarticulate toddler, prone to rocking, hand flapping and under a great deal of stress in numerous social situations, is growing into a social, competent, young lad with a mild speech impediment and an auditory processing disorder.

One of the interesting features of T's toddler hood, was his complete inability to comprehend fantasy play. One particular incident which really highlighted this to me, and has stuck with me, occurred wen we were visiting friends from our antenatal class. Their child was 6 weeks and 3 days older than T. As it was the middle of winter, and there had been days of rain, E had a pop-up tent in the living area where she had set up house. When we arrived she invited T to come out of the 'rain' and into her 'house'. T had never looked so perplexed... he was already out of the rain, and in her house. When she elaborated pointing into the lounge and declared it to be raining there, and to come into the tent which she clearly labelled as her house, to come out. T remained perplexed, and stated as clearly as he could for a child who at that time barely articulated any consonants, that "No it's raining out there (pointing outside). That's a tent (pointing to E's 'house')"

Turn the clock forward some 7 years... This same child is now immersed in a world of fantasy. His conversations are filled with commentary that I find highly suspect, and yet he is convincing enough that there are times that i wonder if perhaps he is speaking truth. I am fairly confident that the friend he made at the local playground when he went off on a solo walk three months ago, where EVERY single family member had a birth date that coincided with our family members... well let's just say the odds are more than low that such a coincidence would occur.

There are other times however when the line is not so clearly defined. There are the people that he has claimed to have met. A few days after having met the family where everyone's birth dates coincided with our own, he met another young person and their parents. Again I was a little sceptical, yet after a couple of days of him going to "visit" them, I got a phone call from him, asking if he could stay a little longer than I had said he could. The following week K and I accompanied T on an introductory visit.

Then there are those occasions when I *know* it can not be true, yet he has the ability to express himsekf so convincingly, that I find myself, ever so briefly, believing.


When T(9) came running out of his room one morning, with a mighty whoop, and looking exultantly into his cupped hands, and proclaimed excitedly "Look!!! I found this under my pillow, I put my tooth under it, and the tooth fairy came and left me this!" Showing the 20 cent coin he held so reverently in his hands.

For a brief second, I actually found myself thinking "For goodness sake, I thought the tooth fairy was pretend"

I eagerly await to see if this talent ebbs or builds into a career in writing, or acting, or evolves to some other form of creative expression.

In the meantime, I shall continue to tread lightly, and endeavour to navigate the slippery and elusive slopes that constitute my T's world as he travels betwixt and between.

I am grateful for the opportunities he provides me to share his world, as I continually invite him to mine