A Birthday and Autism
A Birthday and Autism
My son just turned fourteen.
What does it mean to be fourteen?
A fourteen-year-old boy is interested in his devices.
What else does he do?
Swims. He’s not very athletic, however he does swim three times a week on a VIP swim team.
He has played soccer, but we think this’ll be his last year.
And, he plays baseball. He’s very into baseball right now, plus he’s getting better every year.
Device time
Even though he’s becoming a gamer, he doesn’t spend hours and hours in front of a device. Either his mother or father will interpret that situation (we know that he needs to move his body from time to time), or he’ll do it himself.
He is becoming the kind of person who needs to take regulation breaks.
The breaks
He used to jump on a trampoline, but these days he goes outside and rides his Razor scooter to regulate his body.
He will also run around.
Usually, he takes the breaks on his own schedule.
Breaks at school
At school, he will go out with the kids and play some game on the grounds.
More typically, when I come to pick him up, I’ll find him playing the Wii with peers.
That balance
He is developing a balance. Which I’m happy about.
The belief in a balanced life
I believe in balance. We try to set example.
For me, I work a job and exercise. However, I also sit in front of a computer and write. I run errands. I especially like vacations.
We set the tone
My son seems to be getting something from this, sometimes because he’s a part of what we do.
His birthday
This weekend was his birthday and I decided to break up the celebrations.
On Saturday, my son invited a bunch of friends to a gaming place in Pasadena. This place has “classic” video games and pinball machines, and also a Wii gaming setup.
My idea was to get my son together with kids and just let them play games.
And, I had found the perfect place.
Then, birthday party number two, was the more formal one at our home with friends and family.
What was the gaming party like?
My son invited eleven kids. Seven of them are on the autism spectrum.
Turned out, the four typical kids couldn’t make it on Saturday. Two of them were sick, and the other two had another function to attend.
Three of those four ended up coming to our house on Sunday.
So, I was hosting seven kids of various ages, all of them on the autism spectrum.
The age ranges were from fourteen to nineteen.
Two of the kids are from my son’s Teen Club, two of them from soccer, and two of them from swimming.
One kid he has known since age three. They were put together in a social skills group of (at that time) three-year-olds.
The kids
I loved the mix of kids. All on the spectrum was just fine with me. And, what a great mix of kids.
The oldest kid was helping me get some of the kids organized on the Wii. Two of them didn’t want to play on the Wii, but went around playing other games.
I met one new dad, but the rest of the parents I knew quite well.
It was simply comfortable and familiar and makes perfect sense for my life and my son’s life.
He had a great time.
When our two hours were up, most of the families left. (Most of the kids were overstimulated.)
One eighteen-year-old kid was having trouble getting in touch with his ride (his dad). I stayed to make sure that he connected with him.
The other older kid had been dropped off and picked up by an Uber service that caters to special needs kids (called Hop, Skip, and Jump).
It all worked out so well, and it amazes me how well our kids can function in typical places and during typical events (birthdays).
A grand time was had by all.
An autism birthday. Or, a birthday and autism. However you want to look at it. It was all good.
Here are some tips on having a birthday for a child with autism:
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