LARGE SCALE EVENTS WITH ASPERGERS

Copps Coliseum

My wife and her sister just left for a concert at Copps Coliseum here in Hamilton.  I originally bought 2 tickets for the show so that Shannie and I could both go.  Then we ended up giving one to her younger sister for her birthday, which was great because I didn't really want to go.  So today I was remembering all the concerts that I've been to and it got me thinking about how Jacob would handle being at a large scale event, like a concert.

Jacob's been to a few Hamilton Bulldogs hockey games, and he's been to Disney on Ice in the same place as the concert, but a sporting event and a concert are different in a few ways:

1.  Size  -  The Hamilton Bulldogs have had 8k at home games before, but a concert like this could have over 16k.  So it would be over twice the size.

2.  Time  -  The Bulldogs play many afternoon games on weekends so you can adjust the time accordingly.  But a performer may only be in town for 1 night, so an 8PM start time may be the only time.

3.  Length  -  A hockey game might be 3 hours if there's overtime, but some concerts go for 5 hours.  Which means Jacob being tired during the show.

4.  Loudness  -  A concert is way louder than anything Jacob's been to in his life.  And we all know how deaf you can get after a show.  He'd likely end up melting down before the show started.

5.  OMG Price  -  You can get good Bulldog tickets for under $20 so if we have to leave early, it's not so bad.  But when tickets are $60, leaving before the main act comes on is pointless.  When I was young, a concert was only $20.

When I really sit down and think about it, taking Jacob to a concert would be an issue.  Sometimes he can't handle being at a school assembly with 500 kids there.  Let alone thousands of screaming people.  And he hates it when we sing, so again, thousands of singing people couldn't be better.

Maybe I'll try taking him to a free outdoor event next year.  That way we could see how he does with something like that.  I'd love for Jacob to be able to enjoy shows and other things, but he can't.  So we don't let it get us down.  It's a small thing compared to others.  So Jacob and I are going to take it easy and watch TV tonight.  With no music allowed.