Class assemblies

[JackJacksmummy]

Yesterday my sons class held their assembly for parents to come and watch and it was really good but whilst I really enjoyed it I was feeling sad at how noticeably 'different' jack is to his fellow year 1 class mates.

It's as if he is in his own happy little bubble. Luckily for him he is oblivious to being any different at the moment but I really felt sorry for him yesterday :'(

I know what you mean. I watched my son take part in his Xmas play and had real mixed emotions. On one hand for him to be involved was a massive step but on the other it was tough to see him standing out so much & having a TA with him.

It gets better - I remember my ds in yr1 Xmas play and whilst he did it he was oblivious to what was really going on
Cut to this Yr2 Christmas play and ds was so involved that he was the star of the show and said his lines perfectly. It didn't stop me sitting on pins the whole way through worrying that it would all go wrong though

I think most of us can identify with how you feel and it is hard. Ds1 has always stood out as different at these things. I found myself questioning whether it was right for him to be involved, as the build up and rehearsals stressed him out and I was never sure how much he got out of it.

That is, until last year, when they gave him a speaking part in the play. I was panicked just at the thought of it, sure he wouldn't cope etc, but he both amazed us and made us incredibly proud.

They chose a part for him where he had to deliver a speech (town crier) rather than interact with the other characters and he did so well. He stood on the front of that stage and delivered his monologue better than any nt child (who would have been looking for Mum and Dad and noticing all the faces in the audience) could have. This time my tears were pride rather than sadness. He's come a long way from the little boy who had to sit with his teacher the nativity play because he hadn't a clue what was going on, let alone that he was supposed to be joining in.

Ds1 is 10 now by the way, so it's taken a while, but he's found his way and I'm sure your ds will too.

I have to agree with moose. My DS's first few assemblies involved either me or his TA sitting with him stopping him from jumping up and down or running off. After a few years his school realised that he had quite a good memory for learning words (years of delayed echolalia! ) and started giving him speaking parts. At his leavers' assembly last year, he even got a cheer from his classmates. He will always stand out, he still jumps and flaps, but it doesn't seem to bother his classmates, that's just how DS2 is, so I try not to let it bother me.

Argh.. typed a response and before I could post, DH managed to cut the power TWICE... (yep, good day here... sigh)

Anyway. DS2 is 5yo and doesn't cope well with assemblies. He's usually either crying and distressed (and then taken off to another room by TA) or sitting tearfully on TA's lap. Every now and again he'll get through it, but it's always stressful.

They have a play coming up and he's not in it.. well, not really anyway. Apparently he enjoys sitting in front of them, following along with the script. He won't sing in a group, it upsets him. But he knows all the songs by heart as he sings them at home.

He gets distressed over all the people, all the little noises and movements they make. It's even worse when there's an audience.