Physical Education

So its not like I did a lot of begging or bribing but I got Big Daddy to guest post for me! I promise not to let the YuckMouths destroy his sanity.....to much lol

When Griffin (my 13 year old autistic son) started middle school, one thing we were sure of was that we did not want him participating in PE.  It was not because he runs like Herman Munster nor was it because of the famous kick ball incident of ’08.  Frankly, it was because we didn’t think he was mature enough to handle the locker room.

You see, Griffin is a bit of a, um, naturalist?  At home, after exiting the bathtub each night, Griffin has no problem engaging any family member in lengthy discussions about elevator videos or Wilford Brimley, while still totally naked and dripping wet.  These conversations, when they occur in the kitchen, are great appetite suppressants but might not go over well with 50 hormonal teenage boys going through the most awkward stage of their lives.

So, to avoid any locker room mishaps or misunderstandings, we elected to have him sing in choir instead of put him through the brutal teenage rite of passage they (sadistic gym coaches) refer to as Physical Education.  Considering his speech impairment and total tone deafness, we thought having him in the choir would, at the very least, make spring recital interesting.

A few weeks back his teacher suggested that he may be ready for PE and that we can avoid the locker room dilemma by allowing him to change in the classroom bathroom.  We couldn’t refuse and Griffin was off to be tortured educated in the fine art of Dodge Ball. Turns out the gym coaches had some compassion on him and placed him with the girls.  Hmm.  I wondered, given his well known love the fairer sex, how this would sit with him.

Not surprisingly, he loves gym class although the teacher’s solution to the locker room problem was not without some hitches.  Specifically, I picked him up at school the other day and he came bouncing out with his shorts and one sock inside out and his tee shirt on backwards.  He couldn’t care less and neither did I.

Big Daddy brings his unique view of fatherhood, and the world at large, to life on his frequently updated and hilarious blog,bigdaddyautism.com. His tales (and cartoons) from the lighter side of raising a child with autism always spark laughter and plenty of comments. By telling funny and off-beat stories from his life, Big Daddy shows that raising a kid with special needs is not all doom and gloom. To the contrary, it can be quite humorous and inspirational.  His first book is set for release in April / May 2011.