He ran the 400 in the morning...he was there an hour early and they ran a half hour late. To a person with autism they are looking at the clock and getting all worked up that they are not on time....that he even waited that long then competed is AMAZING! The anxiety and the unknown to him...a person that lives 24/7 with extreme anxiety was able to remain calm and get in line and listen to the starter and then compete ...All those that have an Autie are duly impressed. It's so hard for them to enter into a new situation and all those people and all those sensory overloads....I think about me entering a dance club with the top 40 rap crap...it makes me CRAZY....now add every part of your body acting on that..the hairs on your arm...the tips of your ears...the nerves in your toes...every part of your body AWARE of the surroundings.....like nails on a chalk board over and over again...now THINK! Now MOVE! Now CONTAIN your emotions. That is my Joe...his every day...he lives with the outside world seemingly attacking him and has to learn to function with it all day...every day...but he DID IT!
That wonderful 10 year old boy FOUGHT like hell to overcome his anxiety and competed TWICE! He fell apart after the first and came back to do the second....he just did. His EA called me and said he is too distraught to do the second run...then she called me 10 minutes later and said he is GOING! I was with Dad and he and I raced up to the school to watch......and Joe DID IT again! He got in line for half an hour and got up to the start and listened to the starter and started running at the whistle....two full laps around and he never stopped running....came 8th...and walked off huffing and puffing and posed for pictures!...LOL!
I'm in AWE of my boy! The strength to overcome all that anxiety to do it TWICE! When life gives you lemons you squish them...that is how a person on the ASD spectrum thinks...you are not at the lemonade stage yet..it's always the next step first...squish them!
Today Joe squished them...and then some!
Proud Momma of an ASD boy LOVE to you all! XXOO
Good for Joe and facing his daily challenges head on! It's amazing how often we get our inspiration from the ones who are yet adults. Although Joe (or most children) have roadblocks they don't seem to have the negative thought process that most adults use as an excuse to not do what they want or should. They plow through with success waiting for them at the finish line! Very proud of him!
ReplyDelete