A new perspective

I currently teach a student who is on the autism spectrum.  Recently I was discussing how solid a writer he is, and how he has done some really great stuff using GAFE, Powtoon and other sources I have found online for him to write with.

A teacher overheard and asked, in a somewhat negative tone, "Oh, but is he still just writing about cats??"  (His cats are his fixation, and I embrace it).   So I replied, "Yes, but I am focused on the process.  He is doing real well with stories, paragraphs, planning and animations.  It is really remarkable how well he has done."

When I was rehashing this dialogue with my fiancee, I was discussing how it seems to be such a negative thing that he was always writing about cats, even though his stories were unique and fun.  He shows voice, creativity and his conventions are great.  I then said to her, "I should have asked her if all of her kids were still writing about people."

And that's when it hit me.  Cats are his people.  It shouldn't matter if he writes about cats, humans or aliens all of the time.  Does he show growth?  Does he meet the achievement chart and success criteria laid out?  Does he write a variety of text types (paragraph, narratives etc).... Yes he does.  Of course the goal would be to expand his repertoire, but right now, let's just focus on the process.

This week I realized that my student, who writes about cats all of the time is NO different than your student who always writes about people.  Cats are his people, and let's embrace that right meow.