In the Spirit of the Second Amendment: Learning to Shoot

Guns.  Controversial to say the least.  A person either loves them or hates them.  In our house, we chose to educate our kids about them.  With autism or not, my boys are typical, and they like to shoot guns.

I grew up around guns, and I learned at an early age to respect them.  My dad taught me what damage can be done.  Empty soda cans were my usual target.  Different bullets left different holes.

I was about ten when I shoot my first live target.  After it fell from the sky, my dad and I searched the grounds until we found it.  "It" was a beautiful bird, with deep blue and green feathers.  It's head was barely intact.  Talk about my euphoria quickly dampened by reality.  We took home what we shot.  Dinner.

Nowadays, too many times, an accident is reported on the news about a kid shooting a sibling or a friend out of curiosity or play.  I don't want my kids to be one of those statistics.  I don't want my kids to fear guns either.  The only solution is to teach them.

With proper gear and training, my boys shoot.  Grandpa takes them to the local shooting range.  Their accuracy improves with each visit.  Onlookers are usually surprised when they find out that the boys have autism.  Some are even quite impressed when looking at the paper targets.

Yes, my boys had to overcome sensory issues and master fine/gross motor skills in order to be able to shoot.  Years of occupational and physical therapy.  We take nothing for granted.   Of course, our boys' safety comes first.