passing

maya was a "typical peer" at an occupational therapist friend's play group for kids on the autism spectrum today. it was fun, if a bit chaotic. this was a bigger play group than i have seen and the kids like maya were vying for turns and attention while the kids with autism were mostly happy doing their own thing and needed to be reeled into turn-taking and attending to what everyone was supposed to be attending to. a lot like work, which i don't feel like i can write about on this blog with anything close to specifics.

after the playgroup we all went to another saturday soccer game game with the starr king shooting starrs down on the marina green. a lovely day with blue skies and white sailboats briskly moving on the green bay. i saw my kid passing to his teammates and the team making some goals that way. amazing! even a few months ago it was all about him getting the ball and getting it to the goal, alone. passing it to a teammate who scored and being happy about that? a big change.

not 100% sure what i am writing about here. just something about the distance between the kids with autism i know, many quite gifted, and seven-year-olds feeling such a part of a whole that they give up their chance to kick the ball into that net willingly, so their team can get it in. a huge distance, and not necessarily one that can and should be travelled by all. it is pretty sweet to see when they get there, though. and believe me, i am not a huge organized sports fan.

maybe i can apply some of these not quite so profound observations made as a soccer mom to my work as a therapist. or maybe the allergy medication i am taking is addling my brain.

see you