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"Yikes! Its the monster!" they shriek, tearing around the carpeted circle.

"No, I'm not!" he insists. He stands still, for just a moment, looking more confused than dejected. An instant later, he races after them. Seeing his pursuit, the others let out high-pitched giggles and increase their speed. Gaining on them, he squeals and swings his ever-present stuffed animal in their direction.

"Its the monster!" they chorus again.

And so it continues until he wanders over to me, baffled at their persistence and also the label they've given him.

"I'm NOT a monster," he declares, his logic offended.

Were it a one time occurance, I would assure him that no, he is not a monster and these kids were just being silly, etc. Instead, we are faced with this scenario nearly every time we go to any children's play area. Thus I am forced to concede that the common element in each interaction would happen to be my son.

When he was younger, he greeted those with whom he was familiar with a solid punch in the gut or a swat to the face. As a two year-old, such behavior could be laughed off, because although surprising, it rarely caused much harm. When the behavior ceased to change with firm instruction and the passage of time, we knew we had a problem. The fact that such unpredictable behavior is usually accompanied by strange utterances only made matters worse.

It is easy to see why a group of children who aren't familiar with my son would be intimidated by his bizarre behavior. Being children, they create a game out of the scenario, with the feisty and socially-challenged boy given the role of nemesis. Its easy to see...but hard to experience. Especially because I know that at five years old this is only the beginning.

Enter the glimmer of hope.

A week ago we paid a visit to one such play area, only to have the same drama played out again. Unexpectedly, however, an easy-going little guy broke away from the fray and aligned himself with my son. I have no idea what transpired between the two, but within moments they were walking side-by-side in laps around the play area. (The other children had lost interest by now. Two are harder to torment than one, I suppose.) They appeared to be chatting, of all things, and I could only assume that maybe this other boy shared an interest in the transpiration of plant life in a tropical rain forest. Their comraderie would continue for the next hour -- who would dare pull something so precious apart?? -- until his mother signalled it was time to leave. There was genuine reluctance as the two little guys said goodbye, something else new to behold in my child.

Imagine my delight upon the happenstance arrival to the same play area today to see the same blonde head atop the towering foam toy. I pulled my son aside and whispered the news to him. To my surprise, his eyes lit up and he asked me to show him the boy. Surprise turned to joy when upon recognition the other boy threw his arms around my son and cried out, "My friend! My friend!"

Praise the Lord, my son has a new label!