Inside Out and Autism.

Fear and Joy

One kid is afraid of heights, and the other isn't.

Emotions are a challenge for kids on the spectrum. In fact, not being able to express how they feel was the number one reason why my kids would have a melt down back in their younger days. When the kids were little, we used The Unthinkables to help them get in touch with their emotions. To this day, this still hangs on my refrigerator. I'm thankful to the Elementary school teacher that sent this home with the kids. 

Sometimes I still have to remind Noah not to have "Rockbrain" when he gets stuck on things that upset him. Of course, this causes him to be very annoyed. It was effective, but there were still some feelings that proved to be more difficult to talk about.

That's where Inside Out comes in. The kids and I saw it on Friday, and I loved it so much. Inside Out is about a little girl named Riley, who is struggling to cope with a cross country move. The main characters are her emotions; Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust all battle to come to terms with their feelings as Riley's world is turned upside down. Joy tries to lead the way, but Sadness quickly takes over during the life-changing event in Riley's life. It reminded me so much of Noah and what he must have been feeling when we moved. I admit, I cried in the movie. I cried twice. I looked over at Nik, who I could tell was fighting back tears at a couple parts. Noah, on the other hand, was bursting with excitement. He was loving the emotions. I think the movie really spoke to him.

On our way home, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about the movie. Noah was quick to say that Joy was his favorite. Nik said his favorite was Anger. We talked about how we have feelings just like in the movie. Noah brought up Robin Williams and how sad he was that he was dead. He felt Sadness. Sadness. Like in the movie. We talked about getting frustrated just like Anger. Feeling Joy that we were spending time together. In that car, we were quickly able to connect the dots between our emotions and that of the movie characters.

I love these moments. When something clicks in my kids head, and they can totally relate to something. Life is good, my friends. I think this movie with stick with my kids for a long time.