[Mrs Y Blogs] Nothing to do with books - Mother of a Superhero.

Hey everyone,

This is not going to be a book review. Heck, this isn't going to be anything other than a mini-rant about how I feel. I just want to get this off my chest and talk it out.

I bet you didn't know this, but my son is a superhero. He's the proud owner of superpowers that include high spectrum autism, and a nice dose of ADHD, which most people think is a bad thing. I don't happen to agree with it as a negative thing at all.

Having a kid who has always had these powers since in the womb, oh yeah I totally saw it then, I know he's destined for awesomeness. My son is five years old. He can read at a third-grade level, he's kind, he's sweet, he's incredibly smart. He has all sorts of wonderful things that are entirely unique to just him.

But today, unfortunately, I feel a bit like Martha Kent. Sometimes, it's tough taking a budding superhero out for normal kid things. I'm very sure the Kents had this same problem.

My son wanted to see the Lego Movie 2. He wanted to see that more than Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, which is stunning because he fully loves Spiderman. He wears Spiderman everything, but I digress, he wanted to see the Lego movie. So, after he did so well with getting a haircut, and had no problems leaving the salon, I decided to reward him with a movie.

This was going to be his first movie because the last four times I've tried to take him, it didn't work out. He likes to talk, he likes to sit in weird spots, he likes to socialize with people and engage them as he experiences things. None of those things are conducive to taking a kid to a movie, but he's been doing better lately. He's learning about personal spaces, inside volume on voices, and trying very hard to sit still for things. I wanted to see how it would work out.

Thus we went, I got him a popcorn, and a bottle of water, and we sat through the pre-trailers and then the trailers and finally it started. That's when he started eating his popcorn. Anyone with a kid knows that when you get to the bottom of the tub, it's going to be a problem, but I was ready or so I thought.

He ran out of popcorn, and, because of how hyper-aware he is of cleaning things, he started to tell me that the seat he was on was full of crumbs. As I was gathering up the tub and what I needed to get a refill so we could go get one, a man next to us got into his face and shushed him loudly. Thankfully my little budding superhero didn't seem to be upset. My son said "Oops! Sorry!" and we left.

But I realized if we went back that man was going to probably get worse if my son wasn't perfectly quiet. Anyone who gets into a five-year-old's face at a kids movie on a Saturday is probably not going to be kind on a second attempt. So instead of getting a refill, I took my son out of the theater.

He cried, and he cried, and he was very sad. And he wouldn't let me hold him because "I'm a big boy!" and "I want to go in!" and it was tough. I finally got him to get to the car and in, and I apologized and tried again to explain that at movies we need to be quiet, but he was very sad.

So it's tough sometimes for me to watch things like this. I love my little boy, I'm proud of his abilities, and I do not shy away from what he goes through. But I do understand people and I know not everyone recognizes autism or understands it. I just wish, with every bit of my heart, that there were movie theaters for kids like my son.

From what I understand according to a recent update from the school district, 80% of my son's normal public school, has a kid with either Autism or ADHD. My son just happens to have both. And yet, movie theaters are not designed for nor do they make contentions for kids like him. Right now movie theaters are desperate to keep their doors open. With movie pass gone, there are clubs to buy tickets, but I promise you we are going to see a summer with low numbers again.

Think back 2 years ago, the numbers dropped. Summer of 2017 was one of the lowest times in movie history. Yet, in 2018 for the majority of it, there was movie pass. Now there isn't. No one is going to unlimited movies now, the theaters have real problems ahead.

Thus I know my argument is pointless. I already know that no movie theater is ever going to cater to kids or adults on the spectrum. I just wish they would, but I know it's impossible.

In the meantime, there are going to be days like today. These are the little hurts that come from being Martha Kent, but I'm very sure in the end it will be okay. After all, he's my superhero. One day my son will do something that no one else can, and hopefully, it will change and make the world better. I'm looking forward to that day, and I will look on days like these as the little trials that got him there and made him a better person.

See you guys next time for a book review!
Mrs. Y