Thanks, Muppets, for reminding me that neurodivergent kids are magical

“What is a rainbow connection?” my daughter asked, standing in front of her school and speaking into a microphone. “A rainbow connection happens when you’re admiring the beauty of a rainbow with people you don’t know,” she answered.

“All of us at this school have a rainbow connection,” she added. “If we didn’t all have some sort of learning disability, we would have never met one another. This rainbow connection will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”

My heart quickened as my daughter, along with her fifth-grade class, began to sing that famous 1979 song from The Muppet Movie. And that melody hit me like the waft of an old-familiar scent, bringing back long-forgotten childhood memories.

When I was a kid, Kermit and the rest of the Muppets were my happy-go-lucky favorites. So I had heard the song plenty of times before. But while listening to it this time, I heard another side to the lyrics of “Rainbow Connection.”

As my daughter and her classmates sang the song full of unanswered questions, I realized how this crew of kids — who often have difficulty fitting in because of their ADHD, dyslexia, autism, or other learning challenges — have a lot in common with the Muppets that Kermit picked up on the way to Hollywood.