Bear

I know I talk about Bob’s Burgers a lot but one of the newest episodes was so sweet. It starts with Bob realizing that there’s going to be a laser-light-rock-show and remembering how much he loved going to them as a kid:

Since it’s Bob’s birthday, Gene agrees to go with him:

But, like many children, he becomes overwhelmed by the loud noises and flashing lasers. (And listen, I usually hate it when people label characters as ‘autistic’ and act like a show gave them representation when it didn’t…but Bob’s Burgers really does have so many characters who would be labeled in real life, Gene being one of them, and this just adds to it because it’s the perfect depiction of someone being overstimulated):

He eventually breaks down sobbing, screaming that he wants to go:

Bob immediately takes him into the lobby and is able to ground him, getting him to properly breathe until he’s ready to talk:

Bob asks if he wants to go back in or go home. Gene immediately says “Go home!” but hesitates and adds that it’s Bob’s birthday, to which Bob’s instant reply is to not worry about it and that he won’t enjoy the show if Gene isn’t enjoying the show. He adds that they can go back in and he can help Gene through it but Gene begins panicking again and Bob quickly says that they can go home, not once forcing him to do something that would overwhelm him. So they go out to the car (and I just love how Bob holds onto him):

But it gets better. Bob takes out the CD and plays it at a low volume, tilts their chairs back, and uses a cigarette lighter to ‘draw’, creating his own ‘laser show’:

Gene eventually wants to see the finale of the real show, despite Bob’s insistence that Gene doesn’t have to pretend to want to see it just for Bob and that they can just go home, to which Gene assures him that he really does want to see it. They sneak back inside and Bob makes Gene a pair of makeshift headphones so that he can listen to the music without being overwhelmed:

A+ Parenting!

Walk around with earplugs in your pocket.

I like having a mint tin with my “self-care edc” stuff, including my favorite ear plugs. (i’m cisfemale and also like having jeans with pockets that comfortably fit a mint tin. treat yourself, ladies)

Once you can identify what the problem is - here, the level of the music - it means you can start planning for it, protecting yourself from specific overwhelming aspects, and begin being able to enjoy the rest.

And yes, A+ parenting. Find out what is causing your child’s meltdown. Respect it. Know that they have a reason for being overwhelmed. Do not blame them for it. Give understanding and space.

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Before he was scouted for aladdin he was working on a passion project (ferngully) when disney caught wind of the fact that a smaller animation studio had got comedian smash hit robbin williams. They tried at first to get him to only work on aladdin but robin refused to stop working on ferngully. Disney didn’t like that so they actively sabotaged the production of ferngully by doing things like renting out locations which the ferngully team had already paid to use, but nobody can turn down disney money.