While some parents would likely discourage their children from listening to the "vile" verses spun by Slim Shady, Hannah Grieco seems to believe her son has benefited from the rapper's artistry. In an op-ed titled "Something Magical Happened When My Autistic 10-Year-Old Started Listening To Eminem," Grieco recalls the change she witnessed occur in her child's spirit as he bonded with Em's songs identifying with the emcee's controversial persona.
My son hears himself in these lyrics. The isolation, anger and frustration about authority figures and expectations, about who and what is acceptable — about what it means to deserve love or even basic acceptance. The message is wrapped in clever rhyme schemes that he can touch and manipulate.
The kid's fascination started with a Youtube comment labeled Eminem as autistic. Grieco warned her child against the falsehoods spread online. This did not deter him from being inspired to write his own rhymes.
My son’s raps follow the exact same rhythmic patterns as Eminem’s, but he creates his own themes and poorly spelled word combinations: "Geomitry’s answers are defe-dently not forbidden/And you can trust me when I say that there truth is not hidden."
His schoolteachers welcomed his new obsession at first, but his enthusiasm began to drive them nuts. Read Hannah Grieco's full account here.