Feeling Different Therapeutic Story
This is a therapeutic story for children who feel like they don’t fit in. It is aimed at children from 5 to 9 years old, however, children outside of this age group may find the story helpful.
Read the story below or buy the illustrated PDF download from the store.
Alien story
Once upon a time, there was an alien called Alex. Alex was a friendly alien. He had a great imagination and he loved to paint. He was very kind to his brother and looked after his friends when they needed help.
Alex lived in space on a faraway planet, where the aliens had two eyes and two antennas. Alex was different. Alex had three antennas. He had one more antennae than his friends so he tried to keep it hidden.
One day Alex was playing with his friends and his extra antennae poked out from under his hair. His friends stopped and looked at him. He had kept it so well hidden none of them knew he had one more antennae than they did! Alex was horrified. He pushed it back under his hair, and then he ran away and hid behind a large rock.
When his mum came to find him he was still hiding. He took her hand silently and they walked home.
When his mum asked him what was wrong, Alex became angry. He couldn’t find the words to say how much he hated being different from everyone else. So he threw a book across the room. It hit the wall with a bang, then landed on the floor. As Alex got more and more angry he began throwing more things.
When he had run out of energy he looked around and realised the room was a mess. Alex’s family came in and helped him to tidy it up. Alex didn’t feel like thanking them for helping, so he stayed quiet.
The next day Alex’s mum sent him out to meet his friends. He was really worried everyone would point at him or ask him questions about his extra antenna. When he saw his friends in the distance his antennae felt like it was a hundred meters tall. Alex was sure everyone on the planet could see it, so he dropped his shoulders and crept away from his friends before they could see him. Alex played alone every day. He felt really lonely.
One day he came up with a plan. He borrowed one of his mum’s biggest fanciest hats. He put the hat on his head, hiding his antennae and went to find his friends. But on the way the wind picked up and the hat blew away. Alex hung his shoulders and went home.
The next day he borrowed one of his dad’s scarves. He wrapped the scarf around his head, hiding his antennae and went to find his friends. When he got there he was busy running around when he realised he was far too hot. He didn’t want to take the scarf off so he pretended he needed to go home early.
The next day he borrowed one of his brother’s hats. He pulled the hat down over his head, hiding his antennae and went to find his friends. When he got there he was busy climbing trees and hanging upside down, when the hat fell off!
Alex froze and looked at his friends. They stopped and looked at him. Then another alien came over and said ‘I have four antennas. Once I met an alien with five antennae!’
Alex’s friends all looked at the new alien then one said ‘my cousin only has one eye!’, and another one said ‘my sister only has one antennae!’
They all stood in silence for a moment then Alex said ‘let’s all play together!’ The aliens played together for the rest of the day, swinging from trees.
Alex realised that having friends to play with made him happy and hiding a part of him did not. Alex realised that it was ok to be different.
Story © Catherine Lynch
