The raffle ticket.
We attended an event, and a lady starts handing out raffle tickets. She hands Zidane one and he asks what it's for. She says the prize is an iPod. Zidane doesn't cope well with negative feelings, so I'm a bit apprehensive and mad at myself for not spotting her before she got to Zidane. Surprisingly, he hands it back and says "No thank you. I never win things" Now I know it sounds sad, but it would have been easier to talk to him about it later than to tackle the concepts of possibility or luck in a crowded room, which he doesn't grasp well at all. The lady hands him back the ticket and says "Think positive! You WILL win!!"
Oh crap.
So Zidane is holding onto his ticket for dear life and the lady starts to draw the winning tickets. Number 8 wins and an excited little girl skips with joy as she goes to claim her new iPod.
In the space of three minutes in his mind he has been lied to, felt disappointed, and now feels jealous. Children with autism take people at their word and take things literally. It's all too much and without the ability to communicate it all in words, he pours his drink all over the table, kicks over his chair and runs outside.
Outside, I crouch beside him and don't say anything. He whispers "but she said I would win.....she's a liar". I know that lady meant well and she didn't do a thing wrong but in that moment he was so confused and had so many bad feelings already going through his head, (and in our defence, the entire venue probably thought that he ran away and caused a fuss because he's spoilt and upset because he didn't win...) so in that moment I let Zidane be right, I held his hand we started walking and I agreed "Yea, she lied"...
#SorryLady
We attended an event, and a lady starts handing out raffle tickets. She hands Zidane one and he asks what it's for. She says the prize is an iPod. Zidane doesn't cope well with negative feelings, so I'm a bit apprehensive and mad at myself for not spotting her before she got to Zidane. Surprisingly, he hands it back and says "No thank you. I never win things" Now I know it sounds sad, but it would have been easier to talk to him about it later than to tackle the concepts of possibility or luck in a crowded room, which he doesn't grasp well at all. The lady hands him back the ticket and says "Think positive! You WILL win!!"
Oh crap.
So Zidane is holding onto his ticket for dear life and the lady starts to draw the winning tickets. Number 8 wins and an excited little girl skips with joy as she goes to claim her new iPod.
In the space of three minutes in his mind he has been lied to, felt disappointed, and now feels jealous. Children with autism take people at their word and take things literally. It's all too much and without the ability to communicate it all in words, he pours his drink all over the table, kicks over his chair and runs outside.
Outside, I crouch beside him and don't say anything. He whispers "but she said I would win.....she's a liar". I know that lady meant well and she didn't do a thing wrong but in that moment he was so confused and had so many bad feelings already going through his head, (and in our defence, the entire venue probably thought that he ran away and caused a fuss because he's spoilt and upset because he didn't win...) so in that moment I let Zidane be right, I held his hand we started walking and I agreed "Yea, she lied"...
#SorryLady