Goodbye Alan Rickman! Autism and mourning a celebrity.

We lost some very talented people in the past week. First David Bowie, and then Alan Rickman. I'm a David Bowie fan, so I was sad to hear of his passing. But as I sat on the steps waiting for the school bus that morning, I actually gasped when I read that Alan Rickman had just passed away. We loved him in this house. I broke the news to the kids, and they were shocked by the news. Noah said "Oh no!", then just stared in shock for a minute.

I think I've shared this before, but when Robin Williams died, Noah took it so hard. To this day, he still talks about him, and prays for him on occasion. When the kids read a book or watch a movie, the characters become a part of his life. They identify with them, and they help them make sense of a world that often does not make sense to the kids. When the actor passes away, I really do feel that Noah worries about losing one of his connections to the world. The death seems to stay with him.

For my kids, movies aren't just an escape or time killer. Movies seem to help them get in touch with complicated feelings, make sense of challenging situations, and I'm not afraid to admit that they are a wonderful conversation starter. If you ever are around my kids and don't know what to talk about, just ask them about Star Wars, Comic books, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or any other nerdy topic, and the kids will pretty much talk your ears off.

Snape was such a great character. Hands down, he was our favorite character in Harry Potter. He had the best lines in every single movie. It was his delivery that made some of the lines stand out. I can still hear him say "Turn to page 394." There were plenty of lines in the movie that the kids could recite. Snape was the most interesting character. He kept you guessing. Was he good, was he bad? People are often complicated and hard to figure out for a person with Autism. Snape was a perfect character to let us talk about the complexity of people.

Snape's character had so many layers for the kids to explore. His complexity was the perfect way to teach the kids how people could be more than just one thing. He was very unpredictable. Unpredictability is normally not something that people with Autism like. Snape was a wonderful example of unpredictability. He could be grumpy at times, but he protected Harry.  He was also fiercely loyal and in the end, a hero.

Goodbye, Alan Rickman. Thank you for your portrayal of Snape, and how it taught my kids about the complexity of the human spirit.