I somewhat recently became addicted to Law and Order (especially but not limited to SVU), but I am still catching up on never-seen re-runs. So I was exited to see the description of the 2007 Law and Order: SVU episode "Savant," in which a girl with Willams Syndrome is the only witness to her mother's beating. My cousin has Williams Syndrome, so I was curious to see how accurately the not-so-common disorder was represented and hoping that it wouldn't be overly sensationalized, as Law and Order is wont to do sometimes.
As expected, the episode was a pretty good mix of the reality-based and the sensationalized. Key to the plot is the witness (Katie Nicholson) identifying the assailant via voice thanks to her perfect pitch. This is an exaggeration, but people with Williams Syndrome tend to have musical gifts coexisting with mental retardation. In fact, my cousin attended a school, Berkshire Music Academy, uniquely designed for students with Williams Sydrome.
Also spot-on was Katie's extremely social and friendly nature; while in some ways people with Williams Syndrome have trouble with the nuances of appropriate social behavior, they are usually extremely empathetic and able to read people's emotions. A scene in the first five minutes of the episode, where Katie attempts to give Detective Stabler a hug because he "seems upset," made me chuckle and think of my cousin.
Other details in the episode make it clear the the writers did their homework on Williams Syndrome: Katie has heart problems; she tells the detective that some people think she is an elf (because of their unique facial features, people with Williams Syndrome are often described as elf-like).
There were some awkward moments in the episode, like when Katie mimics an orgasm when recollecting to the court an encounter she overheard between her mother and her mother's lover. And because I felt extremely protective of Katie, I wish the detectives and later the judge had been more patient and understanding of her Williams-typical behaviors like over-affection. But this is probably accurate to the way a lot of people react to the disorder. Overall, it was a positive and not altogether unrealistic portrayal, and I'm grateful for this type of media attention being given to this rare disorder. Hopefully more people who don't have someone in their life with Williams Syndrome know at least a little about it thanks to Law and Order.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Santa: Lie or Developmentally Normal Fantasy?
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...
wrote the New York Sun back in 1897.
But wait, some would say. Why would they lie to children like that, and why do we lie to children by perpetuating Santa Claus?
This was a conversation I had with a co-worker a few weeks ago, and it brought me back to an article I wrote a few years ago for the now-defunct Yahoo Contributor Network saying what I felt the need to write about again: calling Santa a "lie" totally misses the point that the New York Sun understood.
Telling children about Santa and letting them believe in Santa isn't lying to them, it's teaching them a myth/story/legend that has resonating truths that go far beyond childhood.
Santa, of course, is based on the 3rd century Greek St. Nicholas. But just because the jolly fat man living at the North Pole isn't real doesn't mean there is harm in children believing in his existence. After all, children naturally believe in a lot of things that aren't real: monsters under the bed, fairies, the Easter bunny, the list goes on. Believing in the reality of these myths is just what children do, and it is adults who try to impose their rational minds on children's instead of appreciating the gifts of their youthful spirits.
These are all beliefs that children grow out of in time, but there is no harm in allowing them. And I have never met anyone who has been emotionally scarred by finding out Santa wasn't real, nor anyone who distrusted adults because of the "lie." They simply shed their belief in time, some sooner and some later, as their understanding of reality vs. fantasy blossomed. And that can happen without shunning the fantasy.
After all, there is meaning and wonder behind the fantasy. Not only depression but also cynicism can create in adults a strict rationality that forgets that there is always meaning behind myth. So let the children believe, and stop referring to Santa Claus as a "lie."
wrote the New York Sun back in 1897.
But wait, some would say. Why would they lie to children like that, and why do we lie to children by perpetuating Santa Claus?
This was a conversation I had with a co-worker a few weeks ago, and it brought me back to an article I wrote a few years ago for the now-defunct Yahoo Contributor Network saying what I felt the need to write about again: calling Santa a "lie" totally misses the point that the New York Sun understood.
Telling children about Santa and letting them believe in Santa isn't lying to them, it's teaching them a myth/story/legend that has resonating truths that go far beyond childhood.
Santa, of course, is based on the 3rd century Greek St. Nicholas. But just because the jolly fat man living at the North Pole isn't real doesn't mean there is harm in children believing in his existence. After all, children naturally believe in a lot of things that aren't real: monsters under the bed, fairies, the Easter bunny, the list goes on. Believing in the reality of these myths is just what children do, and it is adults who try to impose their rational minds on children's instead of appreciating the gifts of their youthful spirits.
These are all beliefs that children grow out of in time, but there is no harm in allowing them. And I have never met anyone who has been emotionally scarred by finding out Santa wasn't real, nor anyone who distrusted adults because of the "lie." They simply shed their belief in time, some sooner and some later, as their understanding of reality vs. fantasy blossomed. And that can happen without shunning the fantasy.
After all, there is meaning and wonder behind the fantasy. Not only depression but also cynicism can create in adults a strict rationality that forgets that there is always meaning behind myth. So let the children believe, and stop referring to Santa Claus as a "lie."
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