Playing with classmates for the first time #story

Out of My Mind "is a film directed by Amber Shirley and starring Rosemary DeWitt, Judith Wright, Michael Cerrus, and others. It premiered in the United States on November 22, 2024
The film is adapted from Sharon M. Draper's novel of the same name "Out of My Mind" written in 2010. "Out of My Mind" premiered on January 19, 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival and will be released on Disney+on November 22, 2024
Melody (played by Phoebe Rae Taylor), who suffers from cerebral palsy, has her intelligence and wit all stuck in her head. Although she can't speak, her heart is rich and soaring freely. She encountered discrimination and setbacks along the way while attending a regular elementary school. But she wants to prove to the world that the meaning of speech is more important than the way it is spoken.

[lydwhite]

I've been on both sides and think there needs to be guidance avalible and communication so these awkward and unnecessary moments don't ruin otherwise awesome days

[dragon]

As someone who is also disabled I hate these types of moms no your kid is not normal it's time to expect that

[NikkolasGaskins-pime]

I hate those types of moms because people with disabilities are normal we just do things differently and nobody should be blamed or bullied for it

[brittanys]

Nah dad be over stepping..he can't tell a kid not to interact with other kids or to stay where they are.

[janesajenkins]

I know for a fact after that - Rose never hung out w her again

[YouveBeenMegged]

Idk if this is a hot take, but as someone who’s been where Melody is here more times than I care to recall: forcing the other kids to include someone doesn’t really help, and can be damaging in its own right.
As a kid, I was often the one that other people had to be explicitly told to include in their activity groups and games. As a result, it didn’t take long for me to get the message of “people only tolerate me when they _have_ to, and they don’t really want me here” and it did a number on my confidence in the friendships I did have, always making me wonder whether they really liked me or if they just felt obligated to hang out with me. It got better over time, but group activities in classes I didn’t share with my friends always (and still do) made me uneasy, because I didn’t want to have to have my presence forced on any group, and when it did happen, I usually just kept to myself the whole time because I had it in my head that they clearly didn’t want me there. So, they probably ended up thinking I just wanted to be left alone, and those things fed into each other. To this day, I have trouble not feeling like an intruder in every group interaction I have.

Trust me, it may be well-intentioned, but it doesn’t help.

Sorry for the rant/borderline trauma dump, I just tend to have a lot of mixed feelings about situations like this.

[alenastevens]

Rose was invited by Melody to the space museum. Rose, instead of staying and hanging out with Melody…ran off to play with her other friends. Melody’s dad asked Rose to make sure that while they’re there, to include Melody, to remember that she can’t play on the playground with the rest of them. Melody is a young girl with cerebral palsy who is extremely intelligent, exceeding the average of her physically abled classmates.

Think about how you would feel if you invited someone you wanted to be friends with to go with you to a museum, and then that person ignores you or goes off to talk to their friends without including you. It would suck and it wouldn’t feel good, now would it?

Melody is fully cognizant and extremely intelligent. She is a “normal” 12 year old girl, stuck in a body she can’t do anything for herself in. Think about how you would feel in that position.

[alexsworld]

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper was one of the first novels I ever read when i was a kid and it changed my life. It was such a sweet, funny, and emotional story and really changed my perspective on disabilities. Highly recommend people have their kids read it as early as possible it’s very well written

[vampire]

Him lecturing her at the end like that is uncalled for. I understand that it's important to include the girl in the wheelchair, but don't expect her to stick right by her side the entire outing. It's just not realistic. She coincidentally saw her other friends, let her say hi. Hell, maybe he'd give her a lecture on acknowledging people you know in public if she didn't.

[RedRattt]

This is a great case of "technically right but not important" because the spirit of what the girl said is inclusive even if she used a technically exclusionarry word. Going at her in that moment is not the right thing to do because it's more important to foster that inclusion, you can talk about the details like language later.

[SoulAumMomsFlow]

Yes, your kid isn’t normal, because there aren’t like the average kid. And that is perfectly fine. Your kid is different and that’s perfectly ok. Acting like there’s something wrong with saying that your kid is different may imply to your kid that there is something wrong with being different. There’s nothing wrong with Stating what is, and still treating eahcother like humans

[mariahromero]

I feel like getting mad at her for not understanding what normal implies then getting mad at her for saying hi to her friends is a bit much.

Is it a hostage situation now? Should she avoid her to avoid the family?

[traceybiles]

Don't bully the girl she's just a kid forget that that's abusive

[AdventureRex]

Ooof putting all that pressure on a kid. She obviously didn't know how to include Mel. Mel has every right to b disappointed, but not everyone can think to include 😕

[ho_dontdoit]

This is why I don't force my kids to be "inclusive" & why I'm glad my family never did that.I also teach my differently abled(neuro/gastro) child that he isn't automatically entitled to "acceptance".Let kids be kids & organically build friendships.One of my lifelong besties has severe CP & our friendship blossomed because the adults in both families let it happen with zero interference ❤

[ilovepinkroses]

I mean okay this is a difficult situation, the kids should be allowed to play, but also they shouldn't be leaving out their friend too, but sometimes kids forget to include others, some just want to have fun and don't care who's left behind. I think the dad was respectful, but it was awkward, but also I thought the kids deserve to play though too, isn't it bad to force the kids to stay with her the whole time, but they were invited by her, but also they should have freedom to do what they want to, they're kids, they want to jump and run etc.

[irenesandoval]

Omg omg omg it's out of my mind! I loved, like loveddd the book, im a teen and it's such a good book!

[g_]

Holy crap I had no idea this was made into a show! I used to read and re-read this book as a kid. Such an amazing book, I can’t wait to watch this

[yousamezian]

Guilt tripping a child to play with yours is not okay

[kaylaz]

I hate to say it, but if we expect everyone to only do as much as the most disabled among us, the world will be a very sad place. I understand you shouldnt leave kids out but: other children cant run jump or play because mine can't? How does that make sense