My thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

July 15, 2011 is the day that the last Harry Potter movie will come out.  It is a great day but also a sad one.  No more midnight showings, no more anticipation wondering if the next movie will be anything like the book.  It is really an end of an era.

For me, the Harry Potter series is more than just a book series.  Yes, I am a little too obsessed with it but it also allowed my autistic son to enjoy reading.  For whatever reason he really connected with the entire series.  I think being able to read the books and then see it come to life made reading more real to him.  It wasn't just words on paper.  It was much more than that. 

By the end of kindergarten my son was reading Harry Potter books.  It was amazing to me, especially since they are fairly difficult for most children that age.  I loved watching him actually connect with the characters.  Seeing him show emotion about something was rare.  To me, it was almost a miracle. 

I think that most autistic children have at least one thing they can connect with. Many times, this will become their obsession.  In their world they may not be able to connect or understand most things.  I say use what they are interested to encourage them.

My son's reading skills really improved reading this series and that allowed him to read about his other interests.  His main interest other than HP is Disney, especially Disneyland.  He is a great reader and he researches all the time for his weekly podcast about Disney.  I thank the HP series for that.

For now, my younger daughter is beginning to read the series and my I am hopeful that my youngest son will, too.  If not, then I will encourage them to read a series that interests them and helps to strengthen their reading skills.  For me, reading is important above most other aspects of education.   Being a strong reader helps a student in every other aspect of their education.  That is just my two cents...