New experiences for our kids are TOUGH!!! We all know it. That doesn't stop me from making sure James has a rich life full of typical kid activities. Last night was horrible though! I signed James up for what sounded like a wonderful experience. A tumbling class for boys. Trampolines, jumping, running, spinning... everything that is naturally James but, with other kids! Perfect! ahhh... not so much!
James joined the class readily and was doing great until wham... he got frustrated because he couldn't do one of the activities perfectly the first time! (sound familiar??) All I know is I finally found him outside at the car adamant that it was the worst day ever and he was never going to go back in. I coaxed him back in, it took some doing because we had to wade through the sea of cute, little, perfectly pony tailed, 4 year old cheer leaders in training. Back inside the group had moved onto the trampoline! Awesome!!!
The next activity was pull ups. AGGGGGGHH! Worst day EVER Mom hit me in the face again!! This time I found him sitting by the front door as I had told him that he was NOT allowed to leave the building without me again. One of the club directors (I guess) came and talked to him about going back into class. He went back in and a few seconds later, James and she came back to me and told me that the teacher of the class said he couldn't stay in the class because he was not cooperating. OHHHHH... my dander went up along with my porcupine spiky things. I said to the director, "sometimes Autism is just hard." The director actually looked at me and said, "did you put that on his application?" I felt like saying "No, there wasn't a spot for that. He is a boy, he likes tumbling, your class just said BOYS TUMBLING."
I had seen James TRY to interact with the teacher of the class. He was using ALL of his techniques perfectly. The teacher just didn't care or didn't know who to respond to a kid who was trying to calm his anxieties by asking questions. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Boys Tumbling. I should not have to tell everyone that James has Autism. He should be allowed to ask questions and work through his anxiety independently. We are going to stick to tennis camp where he is loved and nurtured. Hope you find your bliss in whatever fun activities you have going for your kids this summer.
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