Fri Jun 27 2008 09:42:06 By: HappyGramma ( 2)
I have an autistic grandson, one who has aspergers syndrome, which is the very high end of the functioning spectrum .. and he has been obsessed with Star Wars since he was 4 ! Thank Heaven for George Lucas, as my grandson Loves the JEDI Way .. and it was so easy to teach him values and ethics, by simply discussing 'what a Jedi would do,' etc. He has all the books available, from the Jedi Apprentice series on to the adult level, and he has read them all! His room is a museum of sorts! having had every Star Wars birthday and Christmas all these years! He even has a 3 foot tall Yoda that I won for him years ago .. Yoda is his favorite character! The screen saver, etc. on his computer is, of course, Star Wars!, and he has a running catalog on his screen of one Star Wars picture after another! He is writing his own story right now, NOT Star Wars related, but one that is a metaphor for his own life, and I can credit the years of reading the Star Wars books for a great deal of his inspiration! I must admit that I did not see the WRITER coming! Through his writing, though, he has 'found his voice' so to speak! He has always communicated .. but his emotions, etc,. were harder to read, until the more recent years. Some three years ago, I wrote a long letter to George Lucas, thanking him for his contribution to my granson's understanding of life in general! Since then, he has been diagnosed with the aspergers, and I am even more pleased having had the Jedi to model!