Common Ground

I have a patient who has been quiet and slow to open up.  I have tried everything to build rapport, but she is just so difficult to engage at times.  She has even tried to fake sleeping in the middle of our activities so I will leave.  Today was a beautiful day so I convinced her to go outside with me.  While we were out there she mentioned that she had watched a movie earlier that her mom thought was hilarious, but she couldn't remember the name.  All of a sudden she yelled, "I've been shot" in a British accent and then looked away as if nothing happened.  I was confused and a bit startled as it is not encouraged to yell such a statement in public, let alone at a children's hospital.  After my initial confusion, I realized what the patient was talking about, which led to a 30 minute conversation about our new common interest--Rebel Wilson.  She then insisted we watch the clip below at least 10 times and laughed hysterically each time.

Thank you Fat Amy for a moment of connection with a 9 year old.