Today was Mason's first ever basketball game. Both Dwayne and I were nervous to let Mason sign up for basketball in the first place. I always have conflicting emotions whenever Mason wants to try something new. I want him to experience new things and to try things he has never done before but with his Autism I never know how others will react to HIM. Will they understand that he claps and hums and he can't help it. Will they realize that he hears and absorbs everything around him so he can't focus on everything you say so you will have to repeat yourself many times. Will they see the quirky sense of humor he has and see just how smart he is and how much he wants to do well. Will they help him learn, not brush him a side. So when he came home with the sign up paper I said "I don't know Mason." He looked my straight in the eye and said "Mom, I can do it." I signed the paper and said a prayer.
He played more than I thought he would. I thought his coach would put him in for the requisite time that every kid has to play and then bench him. But he played a lot. Mason had a hard time with the yelling and echo in the gym. I think it made concentrating on they ball difficult but every time someone yelled "Mason! Look at the ball" he focused. We need to work on passing the ball because his teammates tried passing him the ball but he flinched and dropped it. But he ran well and followed his team back and forth on the court. My favorite part of the game was what his teammates and coach did for him. The coach told the kids on the court to make a wall, the ball was passed to Mason, he took a shot and he MADE IT! My son made one basket and I couldn't be prouder. As I often remind myself with Mason...baby steps. So thank you Dr. Koerprich for understanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment