Fantasy vs. Reality

Post Reply New Topic

What should I do? My son (6 yo w/ aspergers) wants to make "real" C-3PO and R2-D2 droids. He won't take no for an answer, and is fixated on it when he is home. He keeps asking about it. And this morning he decided he wants to make Cotton Candy Land. I guess it is a place where you make cotton candy and people come and buy it. I think he is having a hard time understanding that videos aren't real. Any ideas?

I'm not going to be much help, sorry.
My son does these things to. His big thing is video games and computer games. He will pick up what I think is rubish and turn it into part of his game, he uses the kids at school (when they allow it) which is rae to be the characters in his games, right down to they have to be told where to stand and what they can say.
At home this isn't a huge problem, we see it as his safe or comfortable place. He is allowed to be him, he is in control at last of something. When its at school it is a big problem, I think alot of his social problems are stemming from this. He hates what the other kids are playing and he doesn't understand the point to their games.
We are still in the evaluation process. This is one of the things that I am needing help with, how to teach my son what is ok at home may not be ok some where else, without wrecking his self esteem, which is already in striff now. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong, this is why I need the answers from the proffessionals and this board. I am doing my best.
I would be explaining that this is all make believe, but it would be a fun place and maybe he could play it at home for a little while. Perhaps he could, try to make his droid out of leggo? Or draw up the plans for them. Any way good luck Your not alone.

An interesting dilema.

Z, now 11, started playing Playstation and Nintendo games when he was 5. We used it to help him perfect his reading skills, he had to read and understand directions to proceed through the games. I would ask him repeatedly if he understood what was real and what was fiction or pretend. Fortunately he had a strong grasp on the difference between reality and fantasy. The key is ask him often what is real and what in not. When you watch TV with him, when you read with him, when he talks about his play ask him. Make a game of it. When I became Z's Dad I told him I was able to become a dragon at night and fly around the world and have adventures. He would play along but if I told another child about my draconic transformation he would reassure them that it was just pretend. As with anything with these great kids if it is reality and fantasy or, social skills or academic skills repitition is the key.

Z understands, and I still become a dragon,sometimes.

That actually sounds exactly like me. I always wanted to build flying ships and robots. I do not have AS, so obviously this is not an AS-specific problem. At one point I thought I could build the Millennium Falcon.

I say let him be. He's six, he's supposed to be imaginative, it's healthy at that age. I was the same as him, and I kept that creative inventiveness through life, except when I got older, I was able to apply knowledge to back it. I was interested in robotics, so I studied electronics and mechanics and built a battlebot-type thing when I was twelve. I was interested in flying machines so I eventually learned all about aeronautics and Bernoulli's Principle. It's the unimaginative type of kids that I always pitied.

i'm sorry....but i don't really understand why this is a problem......he's actually seeking to be somewhat creative....shouldn't you be happy about this ?
what's wrong with getting him some supplies so he can make c3po or candyland ?

You are right, it is very good that he is being creative. What concerns me is that he is expecting the real thing and isn't happy with anything else. Maybe I just don't know how to turn it into a make-believe game.

The "real" C3PO isn't that hard to make. It's a prop. It takes a little skill, but the rest is all motors and a few remote controls.

Here's an idea. It might go nowhere, but you might be surprised at what happens. Write to Lucas film and explain the situation. You might hear nothing, and you might get a very interesting phone call. Lucas is a very kind man. Explain that your kid is autistic.

Then google Actors for Autism. Mostly, I'm thinking of Joe Travolta, who is involved with them (yes, he's John's brother), and he's also got a degree in special ed.

Please don't sit on this stuff.

There are a lot of performers and producers who are very approachable human beings.

Good Luck.
Btdt

i understand your dilemma now.....someitmes when they're perseverating on something that is inappropriate/inaccessible distraction is one of the few tools that works~ the more you talk about the obsession, the worse it gets.
don't quite know how to help you.

ster and Phagocyte are both right creativity is a wonderfull thing. Christmas is coming, consider making a real or mock Gingerbread house and/or getting a home cotton candy machine. This is dependent on if you celebrate Christmas. In school Z built A Gingerbread Man trap after reading the children's story The Gingerbread Man. It involved fantasy (catching the runaway cookie, and reality, engineering the construction of the trap.

Z loves to play 20 Questions, his favorite categorie is animal. I will throw in such things as dragons, unicorns and chimeras sor he has learned to ask " is this animal real or pretend. You might try a similar approach. Try getting a set of leggos, when he builds something ask him what it is and is it real or pretend. If he builds a plane or rocket and he answers real say, yes it is a model of a real thing but it cannot fly by itself so it is pretend too.

Watch TV with him, nature shows are great, ask him if the animals are real or pretend. Watch cartoons and ask if a talking dog or mouse is real or pretend. Use your own creativity.

It can be fun and if he is into books by all means provide him with both fiction and non fiction books at his reading level. Read them to him and with him and build up his understanding of what is real so that someday he may astound the world by building a workable humaniform droid, he might even call it C3PO!

aren't there miniature robot kits out there ?......maybe telling him that you can only afford a miniature kit would help him be more interested in creating a mini C3PO ?

not sure this would be any help , but explore the ideas of robot making and engineering as it is in the real world.My son wants to build robots and(like in various films and stories) and his father started teaching him about a lot of the parts needed and he is quite interested in becoming an engineer now. Much of the research his father did with him has helped him understand the basics of what is doable currently in robotics and his long term goal is to eventually design something or innovate something better. The interest in robotics started when he was about 5 and still is there at 11.

This kind of creativity and inspiration is a great thing. Don't try to "fix" it, nurture it. He could be the next Einstein or Thomas Eddision. Offer him ways to vent this creative energy, there are plenty of models and lego kits out there regarding StarWars that you could offer him as a starting point. Find a way to direct this creative energy and let it blossom.

Thanks for the encouragement. Sometimes it gets difficult when he is very insistent about these things and also very particular. And like lots of children, it has to be "now". I guess I'm afraid of him being disappointed at Christmas. I'll look into other robots that look like they could be Star wars droids. And maybe create cotton candy land out of a gingerbread house type thing. Hopefully that will be ok with him.

I know thaey ahve kits for 6 years old to build remote control cars. At that age my brother was able to add his own adaptations to make them something completely different,.

Z loves leggos and I,ve seen leggo kits dealing with Star Wars themes you might check that out.