I said in the
previous posting that, having written that posting, I was about to write my
abstract for Our Mythical History in
Warsaw in May 2019. Here is the abstract, accompanied by one of the drawings by Steve Simons that I’ll present there.
Making
sixth-century BCE Athens all about Herakles for autistic children:
out of myth – into history
My first set
of activities for use with autistic children – introduced during the 2018 Our Mythical Childhood conference –
present Hercules at a crossroads between two contrasting paths in life. My
paper for Our Mythical History will take Hercules out of the strange
landscape where he ponders his choice, rename him Herakles, and insert him into
sixth-century BCE Athens.
As a time of
turmoil, ferment and change, the sixth century is one with particular appeal as
a source for activities for autistic children. The activities, linked with
Herakles-themed events in the career of the would-be tyrant Peisistratos, will
build on some of the challenges of being autistic that were explored in the
‘Choice’ activities including: what to do in
times of stress, and how to read
what others do and say. But they will
also seek to create a space where autistic children can explore their autism.
The
session will include some interactive activities for anyone who would like to
participate.
Here
is some further information about the conference.
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