Monday Moanin Thoughts # 110 What Is Your Role – Sidekick Or The Lead?

Happy Monday Moanin to all of you. This is a good time of the year for messages and  preparing for closure. My wife, Dr. Mary Jo Hickey  is a Clinical Psychologist and has taught high school students for 28 years. Every year she writes her seniors a message. She shared her 2014 message with me this morning and I thought it would be beneficial to share it with all of you. Regardless of your position consider writing something to your staff, students, or community. This is a great time to reach out and share. I hope you enjoy Mary Jo’s message:

I recently heard about a new kind of therapy being used with people with autism. Ron Suskind’s

family calls it Disney Therapy. Their son’s therapist calls it Affinity therapy. Suskind wrote about

this process in a March 7, 2014 New York Times Magazine piece entitled, “Reaching my Autistic

Son through Disney.” He writes about a 20 year journey of learning how to best help their son,

Owen, navigate his world in the most effective and loving way possible. Owen has always

been obsessed with Disney movies. His incredible parents found a way to communicate with

him by digging a bit deeper into this obsession, or affinity. The article and their journey are

amazing and I encourage you all to read about it.

My letter to seniors this year is inspired by Owen Suskind. Before Owen found a way to

speak to his parents he would draw Disney characters. His dad found a notebook filled with

characters. At the end of the notebook Owen wrote that he was, “The Protekter of Sidekicks.”

Owen wrote that “no sidekick gets left behind.” It was through mimicking scenes from Disney

movies and asking about the sidekicks that the Suskind’s found out what was going on in

Owen’s world and how to communicate with him. Owen said that, “sidekicks help the hero fulfill

his destiny.” I responded deeply to Owen’s comments. They reminded me of what I’ve often

said and felt in my family. There are so many strong personalities in my family I have at times

described myself as the supporting actress to their leading roles.

This made me think that we all play different roles that could be from movies. Some of you

are the heroes, some the leading men and women, some the comic relief, some supporting

actors and some sidekicks. Some of you are even extras. I don’t mean to say that we find a

role and never stray from it. I’m just acknowledging the differences and I’m also acknowledging

the importance of each role. It is by discovering and understanding our own affinities and the

affinities of others that we help each other fulfill our destiny. It is also so important that no one

gets left behind. We are all important, no matter what our role. The extra at one moment may

become the hero the next.

I encourage you all to dig a bit deeper into your own and each other’s affinities because when

we better understand ourselves and each other we make the best stories of our lives.

Enjoy graduation and your future. It has been an honor being your teacher!

 Here is the link to the Suskind article,  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/reaching-my-autistic-son-through-disney.html?_r=0

Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff. By the way, what is your role? #finishstrong