JCNT - May 2025 Release - Full Release - Flipbook - Page 62
61
Shadow: No. Only Mr. E because he was like me as a kid13.
Katie: He was able to see that side?
Shadow: Yeah.
Katie: So for teachers who haven9t had that experience and don9t know what it9s
like, what do you think the effect of reading it would be for them?
Shadow: That students have a hard time& and you need to give them a break.
Katie: It would have the effect potentially of them understanding that kids
deserve a break and have a hard time?
Shadow: Yep.
Katie: So the story could have an effect on teachers in that way. And if there were
a 4th or 3rd grader that was having a hard time, what effect would reading
that paper have on them?
Shadow: They9d maybe want to be like the kid.
Katie: They9d want to be like Shadow? In what ways?
Shadow: In every single way.
As we had been talking, Shadow had invented a new game using a fidget cube as
a die. We went on playing this game for a while before wrapping up our session.
Final thoughts
As I reflect back on the time I was able to share with Shadow and his family, being
now just a few months shy of completing my third year as a therapist, I am filled
with gratitude for their time, their wisdom, and their openness. When we met, I
had only big ideas I was eager to try, with no way of knowing what the result
might be. Shadow taught me countless lessons about what is possible in this
13
Shadow told me previously that his 5th grade teacher, Mr. E, had shared that he also has ADHD and related to
Shadow9s experiences.
The Boy Who Acted Out of Heart
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, May2025 Release, p. 29-62.
www.journalnft.com
