“Following Instructions”

Informant Information: 

Terry has a son who has Down Syndrome. He is twenty years old, and has been a member of the “My Own Voice” choir for several years now, and still participates. “My Own Voice” is a choir for children with special needs in Andover, Massachusetts.

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: Little stories such as these are shared often throughout the community, similar to how parents share mishaps regarding their typical children as well. These are often given as cautionary tales.

Informant Comments: 

Dear Angelina,

So nice to hear from you!  We were in the process of packing up to move when we received your email telling us about the project you are working on.  We have been in our new home just over one week and this is the first time I am opening and responding to them.  

What a fun project!  So, Brian and I were just talking about how Joshua has viewed or understood a particular thing and we recalled a time when:

[He] was, maybe, 10 years old, and he had his first Gameboy and was playing Ratatouille.  He was mixing together all the ingredients for the recipe needed for the game and putting it into a baking pan.  Well, next, it needed to be “cooked”. The Gameboy, along with the game of Ratatouille, recipe ready, was placed into the microwave and turned on for cooking!  How could we feel anything except, grateful that the only things that did not survive were the Gameboy and the microwave, and compassion for [our son], and a greater “SENSE” of humor.

Life can be taken too seriously.

We hope you will enjoy this little story.

Collector’s Comments: 

While this story is entertaining, we have determined that it is not folklore. This is a story about an individual child told by his mother. What is significant in the characteristic of this particular story, though, is how it all hinges on this child’s interpretation of instructions literally, which is a view of the world that many, many people with special needs share.

Tags/Keywords: Literal, Stories, Children, Special Needs, Down Syndrome