motherdear Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 My ds is an Aspie. He is unable to recognize the "hidden" meaning in story such as symbolism or allegories etc. Last year we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. What time I had explaining the symbolism in that story! Well, we are just reading the end of Shadow Spinner and we're nearing the end of the book. I hadn't pre-read this one and, if you're familiar with the book, you know the main character tells the Sultan a story which is really the story of his life told to him with hopes that can make the relationship to himself. The story is very obvious to most readers, but my ds doesn't get it! (He's 13 years old). I'm hoping someone has short story titles they could recommend so that we can help him with this thinking process. I'm not sure I explained myself very thoroughly... Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 I cannot think of any short stories which are allegories for children off of the top of my head. You may want to take a look at Aesop's Fables. You are probably familiar with them. They have a moral to the story that you may find worthwhile material for your son to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 What about Riki Tiki Tavi? Has he read that yet? Ds read it a couple of years ago and loved it. Being ASD he is a literal minded guy, but not to the degree you describe with your son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 This is not the short story you are asking for, but... the big breakthrough my dd had was with Lord of the Rings. The ring is such an obvious symbol even as Aspie can understand that it signifies power -- and even that it signifies corrupting power. You can make a nice tidy list of what the ring tempts each character with: what kind of power, whether they want it for good or evil, etc. Many Aspies read LotR over and over until they practically know it by heart; my dd finally saw the way all the tree imagery worked in the book. After many readings she could list all the times and places trees were important and then begin to discuss why. You can also use the movies, if your child is a visual learner; if you watch more than once, you can begin to point out things like the recurring tree images and relate them to the book. If your son likes Tolkien, this is a pretty good place to go for a discussion of symbols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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