Autism Awareness Month Day 3

Happy Sunday.
The children were up at normal time but felt weary so I suggested that they stay at home and I go to church alone. As it was sports club day I thought I don’t want a repeat of yesterday and come home and hear that Nae-Nae was kicking off about getting bathed and ready, so I called her to have a bath as soon as she finished brushing her teeth. She has a time for everything but my suggestion seemed to fit in with her timing schedule for the day so without hesitation she bathed and then put her house clothes on and got back into bed. This way when it’s time for club all she would need to do is moisturise and get dressed. So I left the home in calm. It was the anniversary weekend of the passing of my late father-in-law so I knew MrJK needed that calm time to reflect too so sorting that out before I left was a good idea.
Sometimes when the children are weary usually after a full charity club day I don’t insist on them coming church (although I never need to cos they love it) especially if there’s no children’s church cos it’s also respite for me. I get to go and worship God at the time I want so not having to get there an hour before service starts to be one of the first in the building but I can get there just before service starts if I’m not playing in the band. I can park anywhere in the car park and walk round the church entrance rather than through the hall as that’s where one of them needs to go through. Although we’re in a hurry after church cos it’s club Sunday, I still have the chance to hang around a little bit and not have to rush to get home before the scheduled Sunday lunchtime of 12.45pm. That’s a story for another day.
I had a lovely time of praise and worship and uplifting words brought by congregation members that really connected with me and what is going on in my life right now so it’s good to be in the house of God. I must say that my faith has really helped me through some really challenging times. I believe that all things are possible because of that. I can receive love and give unconditional love because we have a greater example of that. I had a wonderful time in fact and I was energised for times ahead.
I came home to everyone eating lunch ready to go to club. So when it was time off we went. As we approached the building there were an unusual amount of cars in the car park and JJ went into the building and came out horrified as there were people in the hall that we booked. Oh boy, this was not good. It happened before where it was accidentally doubled booked at the time we have our regular club and it was meltdown city. We have lots of children with additional needs that attend the sports club I run and for some,  changing to their routine is not a good thing.
I tried not to panic and keep everyone calm and contact the lady responsible. For some reason she mistakenly thought we come in half an hour later so she booked the other event to finish 15 mins before she had in mind that we start which was actually 15 minutes after our start time. One boy was kicking off using inappropriate language because he really doesn’t do change well and he was suggesting that he’s just going to go home. I managed to give him a facial sign to confirm that I was sorting it and it will be ok. I could hear that lady on the phone felt really bad as it had happened before and lots of things had to be rearranged at my request, so I tried not to make a massive issue of it this time. I understand we’re all human and sometimes we are open to human error. Thankfully it was a lovely day outside and there’s a grass area outside the venue so I suggested to her that I will take the kids and play on the grass until the others get out of the hall. I then went to get our equipment and found one of the organisers and told them what had happened so they agreed to get their boys out on the dot at quarter past. They were so lovely about it too. I came back and spoke to the children who were being kept calm by the other staff. I explained what had happened and explained my solution to it. It was a change to routine and I thought my child in particular would hit the roof cos she created a massive hurricane last time, but she was fine. She’s definitely changing! I don’t know why I was surprised because God was so in control here. The other children were happy with the solution and we all went outside did a warm up by running/jogging up and down the field. I’m like a boot camp instructor with those kids. They looked at the field and thought ‘what???’ But they didn’t argue with me lol and just did it.
We played a game of football as a team but those that needed that extra 1:1 happily played along with me in the midst of the game, kicking another softer ball back and forth across the pitch missing the heads of the other children lol. It was fun and it worked well. When the other party came out of the hall we returned and played a game of netball. Nae-Nae always wants to be the one to pick teams but I can’t always let her cos it looks like favouritism but she only wants to do that so she doesn’t have to have me on her team but she loves being on her brother’s team cos she knows he is one of the strongest sports players there. I can only say that now because of the club. JJ didn’t used to play competitive sports well but his confidence has rocketed by attending our fortnightly club and training hard at his own pace in an inclusive environment.
It’s another testimony of a vision that has come alive and is really fruitful. Children that may not always engage in other extra-activity clubs can be free to express themselves, join in at their own pace or work on skills on a 1:1 basis with other children or staff. Personally I think it’s important for my children in particular but any child on the spectrum to have opportunities available for them to explore outside of school hours. These things build on social skills and confidence for any child so how much more those on the spectrum? The slight issue is that not everything is easily accessible for our children which is why awareness is important for all professionals, not just those in education. Our children should be able to attend provisions and the right level of support is there to meet their needs; dance classes, drama, sports clubs, music clubs etc. Sadly we are a long way off from that happening but God bless the people who have set up provisions to make that possible for all children irrespective of need. In my view children with additional needs, should have services that are specialised to meet their needs but equally important to able to attend activities not set up to meet one particular need but be inclusive for any child. We have many children with needs that have siblings with no additional needs and it’s important for them to also be able to do something with their sibling which doesn’t specifically focus solely on their sibling too but be a place where all children can be themselves and get something out of it. The real world is mixed with varied needs and abilities and we all have to live here together so why isn’t there enough understanding and acceptance in more environments?
I could talk about this topic all day and all night but I’m typing this at an hour where it’s dark outside the whole world is asleep including the birds so I should join them.
Feel free to comment and discuss this topic with me! Do you think I’m talking complete rubbish or are you with me but don’t know what the solution is or you have a solution but you need people to listen to it? Here’s a forum…

Peace and Love

MrsJK