Easter Hat

Jonathon has always been a lover of hats. When he was three-ish he inherited a cowboy hat once belonging to Tim. It wasn't long after that the inherited gift ended up filled with water and mud. The once nicely shaped cowboy hat was now fit for any backwoods kinfolk get together! Jonathon looked like a little mini Jed Clampet in that hat. I'm not sure how we lost the treasure, but it disappeared and he never really attached to a hat as much as that one, until three years ago.
Over the years Jonathon's hat collection has grown to include top hats, ball caps, winter hats, pirate hats,  even a somberero, but the most coveted hat arrived three years ago as an Easter present.
One of Jonathon's favorite movies has a character in it who wears a pith helmet, so I ordered one. I figured he'd wear it every once in awhile and change it out with his other hats. NOPE! He is now on his third pith helmet. He wears that hat everywhere! At first, I thought he wore the hat due to sensory issues, but that is only part of why he wears it. The true reason... it's a way for him to reach out to people. It's his own visual to draw people to him. He doesn't have the ability to go up to people and start a conversation, so he's adapted by wearing a unique hat that would catch peoples attention. He says "hello there" to people and, more often than not, they will comment on his hat and then he has the "in" he needs for a conversation. He will thank them for the compliment and if asked he will tell them "the Easter Bunny brought it to me." Heaven forbid when people ask if he's going on safari! He lets them know that he is not going on a safari, that it is an Egyptian pyramid hat and that he is going to the pyramids of Egypt!
I only realized it was his way of hooking people when I noticed a man with disabilities in a felt purple and green Doctor Suess hat. Talking to him I found out that he wears the hat because people notice him in the hat and then he knows people have seen him. He's not just passed by.
What a powerful lesson.