WELCOME TO JIM'S AUTISM BLOG





Hi everyone and thanks for visiting our blog. My wife and I created this blog to chronicle our experience while raising a son with Asperger's syndrome. Since our son was diagnosed with an ASD at age 5, we've had a lot of questions. Lucky for us we have a great support network in place. And our blog gives us an opportunity to share what we've learned with our readers. We hope you find our blog informative and interesting. Thanks again for visiting.


"It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential." Dr Hans Asperger 1906-1980



Wednesday 28 March 2012

SWIMMING WITH ASPERGER'S

I just got finished looking at a post from Jen at Still Looking Up.  In which, she spoke about swimming in the nice summer weather we had last week.  But yesterday, here in Ontario, we came back down to earth with some more seasonal weather.  And of course, yesterday Jacob wanted to go swimming.  So we got dressed and ready, and we walked the block to the local rec centre to do some swimming. 

Once there, something amazing happened.  There was this class mate of Jacob's, who always asks Jacob to play when we go to the pool.  Jacob always says "No thanks."  And the classmate is very understanding about Jacob's condition and refusal to play.  But yesterday was different.  The class mate had no one to play with so Jacob decided to play with the classmate in the pool.  I was shocked  This is the first time that Jacob has ever willingly played with someone in the pool.  Most kids don't understand that Jacob is different from regular kids, and they can sometimes withdraw from playing with Jacob.  Jacob doesn't mind, but it does have an adverse affect on me.  After all, Jacob is my son and I want him to be accepted for who he is, so when he isn't, it hits home with me.  So when I saw Jacob playing with his classmate, it was fantastic.  Together they played catch, volley ball and monkey in the middle (of course I was the monkey the whole time), but I loved it.  It was so nice to see Jacob and a friend just laughing and having a good time.

I also thought it was amazing that an 8 year old could be so understanding about Jacob's personality.  The classmate was totally entertaining Jacob and the classmate and I both enjoyed it.  The classmate would throw the ball and Jacob would swim after it and hit it back.  While Jacob was swimming after the ball, his classmate would tell me things like "Jacob was mad in school today", "he threw his stuff on the floor" or " he yelled at the teacher".  The classmate thought it was so funny how Jacob acted, but I think the classmate understands that Jacob is a bit different.  Which is amazing.

It was so nice to see Jacob interacting with this classmate and I'm glad the classmate is as mature as they are.  Which seems weird considering the classmates age.  This classmate is always saying "Hi" to Jacob and always asks Jacob to play along or join in the game that they may be involved in, which is nice.  Most kids would ask Jacob to play once and never again.  Some might even see Jacob's behaviour in class and not want to play with him at all, so it was nice to see them playing together in the pool. 

After swimming, I told Jacob that he should play with the classmate at school more often and he said that he would.  He also talked about how nice his classmate is and that he really had fun playing together.  So I took the opportunity to explain that it's okay to play with other kids, to which he replied that he would.  I'm so thankful that the classmate is so accepting of Jacob, which is a trait that even some adults lack.  It was so nice that it almost brought a tear to my eye, because after all, we just want our kids to be accepted for who they are.  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. 

4 comments:

  1. This is powerful post, Jim. I also think it's great that his classmate accepts Jacob for who he is and maturely understands that Jacob is different, and doesn't mind. That also hits home with me a bit. I am disabled, and although it took some time for even me to come to terms with that and accept it, I now have. I have accepted the fact that I am disabled, and I am different. I can't do the things other people do, and I've seen the frustration in other people because of this. They want me to be involved in things, or do things, that I can't do. I see them get frustrated, and it bothers me a lot! Imagine how much it frustrates ME that I can't do the things they want me to be able to do. I hope I'm making sense here. Another thing I find is that when people see me in my scooter, they hardly ever speak to me, but they smile at me with this weird sort of "pity smile," that seems to say "poor thing." That doesn't bother me as much as it used to...I think people just don't know how to deal with people who are different than they are. Sometimes I smile back, and sometimes I just turn my head. I don't know why really, maybe it bothers me more than I realize. Anyway....it's a bit different now that I have my service dog with me. Now I don't get the "pity smile" as much, and people talk to me more because they're very interested in my service dog. Now they smile because most people just love dogs. I don't really know where I'm going with all this, but I want to say that it's a great thing that Jacob's classmate is as engaging and understanding with Jacob as he is. That's awesome! I guess I'm also trying to say that my service dog has helped me/is helping me in many more ways than she's trained to. Thanks for your post....very powerful!!!

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    1. Thanks for the reply Jewel. When we go out Jacob usually says hi to everyone including those people in scooters, and especially if they have dogs.

      Then I think about how my son is more accepting of others than some adults I know. It seems that both you and Jacob have the same attitude towards things, even though you're disabilities are very different.

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  2. There are those kids who are just old souls or something, and who have this maturity beyond their years. It really is amazing to experience. I think next week we are going to join the local Y, just b/c I can't see us getting a pool anytime soon, and K just LOVES the water so much. Glad he had such a fantastic time!

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    1. He had such a good time that we went again yesterday and I bought a family pass for the year. And the best thing is, how fast Jacob passes out in bed afterwards.

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