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.

O Happy Day!

Ryan about to serve

In the midst of trying to resolve issues, there is a bright light.  AND did we celebrate.

Ryan and Nick played in their first tennis match on their high school tennis team.  Ryan tried cross country, but the endurance was too much.  I bet the desert heat didn't help during the summer either.  Nick did track and field in junior high, but his heart belonged to an event that he didn't get to do.

Mike and I have introduced various sports in the past.  Some were too expensive to continue.  Others just didn't capture the boys' interest.  So why tennis?

Nick returning a serve

My parents have played tennis for as long as I can remember.  I tried playing, but I spent more time running after the balls that went over the fence than playing on any court.  The boys had a few lessons from their grandparents when the boys were very little.  What made it stick this time?  I don't know.  I don't underestimate that the girls' team might have some influence.  The girls and boys' tennis teams practice at the same time.  Hmmm.

What I do know is this is a HUGE milestone for the boys.  Many years ago, the boys had several issues to overcome.  Nick couldn't stand to wear socks, let alone shoes.  As they developed autism, their gait became abnormal.  Walking and running were dangerous.  They lost their balance easily.  Ryan ran with his eyes closed.  I was told this was a sensory issue.

Ryan serving, Nick at the net

I became a soccer mom of therapy.  Days on end of traveling from school to therapies--physical and occupational therapies (among other therapies).  I made sure they had adaptive PE in school.  Years of therapy.  Miles of driving.  With no guarantee of improvement.  Just hope.

Today is hope fulfilled.

Coach W with Nick

Ryan and Nick played in a real sport at school. Their matches were even next to each other on the court. They played in the singles and doubles.  They were actually the doubles team.  The coach guided them at times.  Otherwise, they played.  On their own.

Those years of therapies have paid off.  My boys may have a hobby for life!  Priceless.

Autism and Sensory Issues: Cacti Garden

In the Southwest, this is the perfect time of year to enjoy outside activities.  The boys agreed to pull out a huge, dead vine and put in a cactus garden.  The dead plant didn't receive enough water, so what else would make sense but to plant items that don't need much water?

Secretly, I had an ulterior motive.  I have noticed that some sensory issues are creeping back.  It has been over a year since Ryan and Nick have received any occupational therapy.  This type of therapy has helped them overcome a vast array of sensory issues.  For example, they can now wear jeans.  When they were younger, all they could tolerate on their skin was cotton.  Jeans were too itchy and heavy for them.  It took about 5-10 years for them to overcome clothing issues.

Anyways, at the autism conference last month I noticed Ryan could not wear his name badge.  It was attached to a cord that was suppose to go around his neck.  It lasted 10 minutes on his neck.  Throughout the day he tried to wear it because it was "required" to get in and out of the conference rooms.  Nonetheless, it never stayed around his neck for more than 10 minutes.

To deal with the sensory issues, I decided to use soil.  However, I needed to be creative.  The boys are not big fans of "therapies".  Thus, the idea of a cactus garden was born.  Dry dirt, wet mud, hard clay, icky weeds, and dead vines were attacked today.  The boys tolerated most of these items as long as I kept them busy.  If one stopped with the chore, suddenly the gunk on his hands bothered him.  Each one wanted to take a break and wash his hands.  I knew if they stopped, there'd be no getting them back on task.  Consequently, I was a benevolent dictator today.

I worked side by side with them.  Cut, pull, dig.  It took a few hours, but we finished pulling out the weeds and the dead plant.  We filled two garbage cans with the debris.  I was amazed at how well this team of autistic teens worked together.

After cleaning up and eating any food available, we went cacti shopping.  We found a wonderful array of inexpensive succulents and cacti.  Nick made the request for blue plants, and we actually found two blue cacti.  Cameron found a beautiful plant called a silver torch.  Cam discovered the soft, white "cotton" on the cactus belied the hidden sharp spines.  "Ouch," he exclaimed with astonishment.

Tomorrow we plant the new arrivals!  I have a feeling tomorrow will bring a new round of sensory issues:  planting and avoiding the spines.

photo credit:Clinton Steeds' photostream (200)

Beach and Tactile Issues Part 2

Last week we had fun at the beach. Several years ago that was an impossibility. The boys simply could not have handled the sand.

Tactile = anything pertaining to the sense of touch The tactile symptoms of autism can be unique, just as each individual, autistic or not, is unique. Ryan, Nick, and Cameron had various tactile issues. Ryan did not like to be touched. Nick could not handle clothing on his arms and legs, nor shoes on his feet. Cam banged his head on the floor. None of them could tolerate anything gooey or dirty on their skin. None of them could tolerate the feel of denim or anything metal, such as zippers. Really, the only material they could tolerate was cotton. It was quite distressing to figure out what to do in each case. Remember that Ryan was diagnosed with autism at age seven, Nick at age five, and Cam at age two. Since we did not know what we were dealing with, the earlier years for Ryan and Nick were really a struggle. We simply did not hug Ryan much. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, Ryan would lean back to get out of a hug, and this usually resulted with a dent in a wall. Nick ran around in shorts and t-shirts. Cam usually wore a bike helmet to protect his head. The real progress in their learning to live with "touch" did not start until we had Kelly, an occupational therapist. At first, I thought that meant sending my kids to work, as in to earn a paycheck. I quickly learned that occupational therapy related to the kids and what was a normal activity in which they should be able to participate. The first, big step was shaving cream. It was easy to put on, and easy to wash off. If it got on clothes, it was easily washed out. Kelly put just a little bit on each hand of my boys. Oh, the screeching and hollering that bellowed from my kids, protesting that awful stuff. Poor Kelly. She timed this activity. At first it was simply trying to get the kids to tolerate a minute of shaving cream on their hands. That took about a month to master. Of course, they still screeched and protested. Ryan even jumped around because he did not like it one bit. Kelly rewarded them with spinning or swinging. That gave each boy some down time, time to recover. Obviously, this issue is going to be a mini-series instead of two parts. Next time I'll go into more detail and briefly cover other therapies like the use of horses, sensory room, sensory boards, etc. photo credit: littledan77