Tommy

Sorry no updates in a while...we've had no internet! So sad to us. I'll post the cities we were in once I remember them :-)

I've had a bit of a cold this past week, and one afternoon dreaded my workshop because I wasn't feeling that great vocally. But my class ended up being SO cool. I played a game with my kids called Bang. There was a boy named Tommy who is autistic in the class who had a special aide. It's cool in Italy because most kids with physical and mental disabilities are in the classrooms with everyone else. I've seen that go poorly in the States, but here it's great because the other kids really do want to see the kids with difficulties succeed. They help explain things and cheer them on and their aides are usually very involved. Anyway, we were playing Bang and Tommy had to be eliminated. I looked at his aide, and he acted like it would be fine, but Tommy freaked out and had to be taken out of the classroom. I was bummed because I thought he wouldn't come back. But he did come back once he calmed down, right before I started explaining the rules to the more complicated version of Bang. So I made sure he understood the rules and let him get the hang of the game and he got pretty good at it! In fact, he ended up being in the final round--the big shoot out between him and this other kid. I was so nervous. I have never wanted anyone to win a game like I wanted Tommy to win Bang. The whole classroom was cheering him on! So it's the last round, and I say, GO! and they were so close...in most cases I might call it a tie. But the whole class, even the kid playing against Tommy are pointing at Tommy, saying he was faster. So I say, Tommy, you are the CHAMPION!!! And I have never seen more excitement come from a child. He's screaming and jumping and his face looks like Jon's on Christmas morning when he got his first electric guitar and the whole classroom is cheering and piling on Tommy and the teacher runs to the middle of the circle and picks Tommy up and spins him around and kisses him a zillion times (these things are fine in Italy). It was so cool. It was amazing to see how happy he was, but just as cool to see how encouraging and excited his classmates were.

So then we all pulled ourselves together and carried on with the workshop. It was awesome because Tommy was really engaged for the rest of the workshop and really good at the games we played! Such a bright spot in my week!!