Kid, ya got moxie!
Em is one of those examples of why you shouldn’t make assumptions about people based on their diagnoses. She is hyperactive and has autism and a central auditory processing disorder (the CAPD is a new finding). She therefore sometimes has trouble understanding spoken and written language and why people do the things they do. But she’s a ham. Get her up on stage and she’s in heaven. I’ve written before about her triumphal karaoke surprise, her desire to be cast in a play, and her stint at drama camp. And for the past three years she’s participated in the school talent show.
In third grade, she got up on stage and told jokes. Apparently she got some good laughs. Last year she sang a song, using props she made out of construction paper that day in school. This year, she’s managed to recruit some other kids for her act.
That’s right, Em has minions.
She decided on her song (Cereal Girl, a Material Girl parody linked below) and got two girls to be her background singers. The next day two more girls asked if they could join in. I printed up the lyrics to her chosen song and she passed them out, and the girls have been practicing at recess. The talent show will be on the last day of school during the day. It’s traditionally for the kids, not the parents.
I wonder if I could sneak in…