Amigo showed his new-found maturity and independence by buying tickets to his high school's playoff games and making arrangements to ride the school's Fan Bus. He even contacted a teacher who would be supervising and asked if the teacher would be willing to be his sighted guide in and out of the arena. He was motivated enough to take charge of the situation and ask questions (politely!) of the right people.
We, merely the humble parents, were impressed.
The team won two close games, the second one with a 3-point shot in the last three seconds of the fourth quarter. Holy sinking basketballs, Batman, it was dramatic! Chuck and I met the fan bus on its return to school and handed Amigo an ice cream treat to soothe his hoarse throat. His response: "Guess who led the fan section cheers!" Yes, he did. "Give me a T! Give me an E! Give me an A! Give me an M!"
Back to 'normal' Sunday morning, he picked up his history textbook to work on his homework - and promptly fell apart. Tears. Four-letter words. Negative self-talk, not suicidal, but worrying. I sent an email to his teacher asking for an extension and hoped she would understand.
Hoped. There's no guarantee in these cases. Amigo doesn't get services for Asperger's; all of this falls on the vision teacher. His blindness is the more obvious disability, so school staff tends to ignore the fact that they're teaching a student on the autism spectrum.
As usual, I included specifics in my email. At the risk of alienating defensive teachers, I gave them information on how his disability affects his work.
He does not skim and scan well. Assignments like this one are often difficult and take more time than for a typical student.
- Typical of Asperger's: if he can't find the answer, he starts to panic, making it near impossible to think clearly. He panicked and froze completely while working on this at home. He was too tense and upset to accept any options I offered, including this request for extension.
- We often modify by using a print copy of the textbookourselves, pointing him toward the section or subheading of the text so that he can search a smaller area. This year, we do not have a print copy of the textbook. He has trouble identifying subheading and section headings on his own in Braille.
I did not include the following, even though it is important. I'll hold it in reserve in case they claim he "should have" finished it before the basketball games.
"Friday he was very focused (as was much of the school!) on the basketball playoff games. This hyper-focus, also typical of Asperger's, made it difficult to focus on the work during class. The school climate of excitement and anticipation definitely has an effect on him, one he doesn't always interpret correctly or understand."
The next game is in the state capital: today. If they win, the championship is Saturday. I'm dreading the effects on his homework. But in all honesty, if he wants to attend, I'm planning to say yes.
Even if I do have to continually educate the educators.
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