So When Does He Start?

Now… for those who have paid attention to my avatar (or listened to me mention it before), my escape from the Monster’s Autism is curling.  The sport everyone watches during the Olympics every four years, yes, with the brooms on ice.  Some folks have music, some folks have other sport endeavors… I go out into a cold room with my broom and throw forty-two pound stones down a sheet of ice.

(I’m used to the quiddich jokes, by the by – they’re getting old.)

My local curling club gets a visit every year from a supply shop based “up the road” in Connecticut – Brooms Up Curling – and this year, the truck came through during a bonspiel (tournament) at our club.  Because I wasn’t going to work on the ice crew until later in the evening, after the truck had left, I volunteered to take the Monster with me so I could make a morning run to the club and make some purchases for the upcoming season.

To my surprise, given the pre-emptive fit he’d been throwing before we left the house, the Monster was very good and compliant while we drove the forty minutes to the club and was very patient with getting into the unfamiliar trailer so I could browse and make my purchases.  He settled into a folding chair nearby, holding my new grippers and pad, while the man and I talked shop about his POS system and completed the purchase.

“So,” said he, gesturing at the Monster, who was starting to get antsy in his seat, “when does he start curling?”

It’s a good question.  I keep going around and around the answers to that one.

I certainly think he needs a sport.  There’s an adaptive soccer program twice-a-fall nearby in the county, and an adaptive ice hockey program on Saturday mornings that runs through the winter.  I’ve recently read a blog by a woman with a child on the spectrum who has gotten her son involved with a tag rugby program.  And while we do arrange for situations for him to socialize with other children… it’s not necessarily generally a success.  Sports, on the other hand, are a nice, structured activity that could encourage some socialization.

The only thing that’s really stopping me at the moment is the fact that he doesn’t necessarily listen or follow directions.  I haven’t yet risked taking him out on the ice at the club because of the obvious safety concerns when he won’t listen.  But… I’d love to have him take up the sport, especially now that my club just put in a second “little rockers” house (half-sized stones and a half-sized sheet for half-sized players).

Maybe soon.  Maybe soon.

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