Hercules
Hercules

Bearer of Hope for Autistic Children?

Author(s): Susan Deacy
Subject(s): Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Hercules; hope; autism; classical myth; education
Summary/Abstract: Where hope is brought up in relation to autism, it is often linked to its absence or loss, with the life of an autistic child regarded as one of suffering and hardship. This chapter introduces a programme of lessons for autistic children that move beyond such a deficit model to one grounded in a perception of autism as a way of being. I set out how the lessons are based on the character of Hercules, and in particular the choice he is tasked to make between two very different paths in life. I discuss how the lessons utilize Hercules as a “gateway” for autistic children to identify and contextualize themselves and others, and a “gateway” for neurotypical people into autistic ways of being and experiencing. Hercules, I conclude, is a “hope bearer” – for autistic children, and for all.

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