Zero stands tall at Disney

May 2, 2006

Hi. Remember me?

I have not been around in a while. I pop in to veiw postings here but

have not responded a little over a year ago with one of my Top Ten Lists.

My son, Zero (not his real name) is an engineering student at Purdue.

Well, sort of. Last semester he participated in Disney's College

Program. He liked it so much he stayed for another semester. He

recently auditioned and was accepted to be a cast member for the

summer. I won't say which character he is but he's 6'-4 " , so that

pretty much limits which outfits you can fit into. He will not be

Chip, Dale, or any of the Dwarfs. He's been in training for a few

weeks now. He says it's great. Because he's in a costume (and those

characters never change there expressions, " Just like me, " he says)

his social quirks and deficits are hidden behind the mask, as it were.

He is in a Disney owned housing complex and has all the other benefits

of being a Disney employee. The have college courses, but none that

will transfer for his current degree program. The city that is

Disneyworld has everything you need.

He says he wants to return to Purdue someday, but he also wants to

feel valued for a while. The pressure at Purdue was to strive to be

the best. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not exactly an Asperger's

trait. The pressure at Disney is to make people happy. Also not a n

Asperger's trait, but he can measure his success by the smiles.

It never occurred to me that this would be theraputic for him, but it

makes sense. People who would normally shun him because he is

different, come up to him and hug him because he is a Disney

character. I am not saying you should get your kid a Winnie the Pooh

outfit, but from inside the suit, it is a 180 degree flip-view for him.

I told him its an unusual path to an engineering degree, but I am not

discouraging him. It's giving him work experinece and experience

managing his own money. It could be worse. I hear Vegas is hiring.

Don't ask where I have been for the last year. It would take almost a

day to tell you. Let's just say it was a year when our autistic son

was the least of our worries. If any of you could think that is

possible.

Mark

Between the trees

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