Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Being the first one in line can have its benefits.  Ben got to take part in opening the Disney store since we were the first ones there.

Traffic

Stoplights

Long lines

Wordy speeches

Waiting for a turn

For most of us, these things can cause feelings ranging from mild irritation to downright annoyance and frustration.  However, for my son Ben, the items listed above cause him major struggles every day. 

Being patient has always been especially challenging for Ben.   Now, I know that all young children struggle with patience.  Waiting is hard to everyone, especially in a society that has become accustomed to instant gratification.  However, those on the autism spectrum have to contend with additional layers of challenge.  Autistic individuals tend to hyper-focus on an object of interest and also have a tendency to perseverate (talk or think about something over and over and over). 

The more Ben anticipates or wants something, the harder it is for him to wait, and the louder and more persistently he demands his desired object/event.

Exhibit A:  Ben loves going to OT, but it’s across town and unfortunately we sometimes run into traffic on the way.  As we get closer to the gym, as he calls it, if we run into a line of cars or are stopped at a red light, he’ll start yelling at the vehicles.  “You’ve just crossed the line!” he’ll shout at them.  Sometimes he’ll start pushing into the seat in front of him to try to physically move the car forward.  No matter how many times we’ve discussed being patient, taking deep breaths, he still works himself into these states on an all-too-frequent basis.  Thankfully, some days the traffic doesn’t faze him at all.  But other days, particularly if he’s feeling extra tired or if the wind isn't blowing the right way, traffic becomes the stuff of nightmares.

Exhibit B:  Waiting for a coveted prize or possession is very, very hard for Ben.  One shining example of this happened this past Saturday.  Ben’s soccer team played in their final “championship” game.  I use the world championship loosely because they played the exact team that they have played all season on the exact same field.  Even so, Ben knew this game was special.  This is his second soccer season, and he knew that after the game he would be getting a trophy.  Now I know that children should enjoy playing sports for the love of the game and not be so materialistic.  I know that too many extrinsic rewards aren’t good, as we should teach intrinsic motivation.  But, Ben has been talking about that soccer trophy ever since soccer began.  After each game, he would count how many games were left until he would get his trophy.  After each game, he would tell us how hard he played, and how well he listened to coach, all in the name of earning that trophy.  So, this Saturday, when the game finally ended, Ben made a direct beeline for the trophy table and stood as closely as he could to the gleaming plastic soccer balls on pedestals.  To Ben’s credit, he did not grab the nearest trophy off the table (as he did last season) but held his outstretched hand in front of them, fingers hovering in the air while his coach spoke to the parents about the season.  Then, coach called each player up one by one, starting with the player farthest from Ben.  When Ben realized his name was not the first called, he let out a loud, exasperated shriek that got more and more frenzied with each passing player’s name.  Finally, the head lady whispered to coach to go ahead and give Ben his trophy, to which Ben let out a loud, jubilant shriek of joy, victoriously pumping the air and clutching the trophy with pure rapture. 

I want my son to learn patience.  I know it is a life skill, but I also recognize that, as with so many things in life, there is a learning progression.  I can’t snap Ben into a sudden zen-like state where he arrives at a place of patience overnight.  It is a process that takes time and repeated exposures to trying situations.  We try to teach Ben techniques to help make the waiting process more visual and concrete for him.  For example, we count down the days to anticipated events like flying to Indiana or Christmas with countdown chains. Every morning he gets to cut one piece of the chain until the day arrives.  This time we haven’t even needed the chain as we prepare for our Thanksgiving trip to Indiana.  To help Ben handle waiting for a big event like getting the soccer trophy, we tell very specific social stories so he knows exactly what will happen.  Before the trophy ceremony, I took him aside and explained that first, coach would talk and everyone would listen quietly.  Then, coach would call each player’s name, and when he called Ben’s name, he would get to come up and get the trophy.  I’ve found that social stories don’t completely resolve Ben’s impatience, but they do make the waiting tolerable because he knows exactly what to expect. 

Another thing that Ben has a hard time waiting for is a toy that he really, really wants.  Going to Target or Toys R Us used to be nearly impossible, because if Ben saw an item he wanted and he couldn’t have it, a meltdown was pretty much a given.  He simply did not understand the concept of waiting for that gratification.  To help with this, we introduced the concept of a wish list.  If Ben saw something he really, really wanted, we would take a picture of it and add it to his wish list.  We’d put the pictures on the refrigerator, and as he’d acquire the items at a later time, he could check the item off his wish list.  We have Christmas videos where Ben opens a present and immediately runs to the refrigerator, pen in hand, to check the item off the wish list before proceeding to open the next present.  Now that he’s older, he barely uses his wish list anymore because he doesn’t need that intervention.  Instead he has an allowance for feeding the dogs and doing chores, and he’s learning to save his money towards buying the things he wants. 

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go exactly as planned.  There are traffic jams on the interstate and rainy days that cause soccer games to be cancelled.  There are Christmases and birthdays with presents from relatives that are not exactly what was on that wish list.  As hard as these moments can be to live through, they are necessary also, because they provide an opportunity to practice flexibility. 

To a casual observer who is witnessing these behaviors in public, it is easy to label the child as a “spoiled brat.”  Sadly, not everyone in society gets it.  There are some that are quick to judge without fully understanding the situation. 

I read a story recently about a man standing in line at McDonalds in front of a little boy and his mother.  While the little boy waited, he repeated over and over to his mom that he wanted an apple pie.  This verbal perseveration on this object of intense desire (the coveted apple pie) coupled with some other behaviors indicated that this child could very likely be on the autism spectrum.   Sadly, when it was the man’s turn to order, he bought every single apple pie and then promptly threw them all in the trash, saying that little boy needed to learn a lesson and that spoiled brats don’t always get what they want, especially brats that drive everyone crazy. 

Another example is of a female blogger who goes by the name of Smockity Frocks.  Smockity wrote  a story on her blog page about a little girl and her grandmother who were waiting for their turn to use the computer at the local library while Smockity’s little girl had her computer time.  Smockity mockingly described how the little girl repeatedly asked her grandmother how much longer until her turn on the computer.  The grandmother soothed the little girl, telling her, “Not much longer, sweetie.”  In her blog post, Smockity mocked the girl’s hand flaps, saying she looked like a little bird ready to take flight and clearly missing the signs of a child on the spectrum.  Smockity went on to praise her own self-restraint at not going off on this grandmother for praising the little girl for being patient, which in Smockity’s mind, she clearly wasn’t.  

Sadly, many people are quick to judge the behaviors that they see in other people’s children without understanding the entire situation.  Patience is a hard skill for all children to learn, but it’s especially challenging for those on the spectrum.  So, if you see a child out in the world who’s grabbing for that soccer trophy or repeatedly asking for that apple pie, before assuming the child is spoiled and hasn’t been taught proper manners, pause for a moment before passing judgment.  A little kindness and self-restraint goes a long way.

Little Things #SensoryHop

Ben and his Papa riding the golf cart during a camping trip this summer.  

"Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

-Robert Brauit

November is the month where we take the time to reflect on what makes us thankful.  I’m trying to embrace this spirit of thankfulness all year, not just in November, but this is easier said than done.  It is easy to become caught up in negativity and focus on the many things that make life just plain hard.  Even so, there are those shining moments in our day, some of them so small that they might pass us by if we’re not taking the time to notice.  These moments serve as reminders of all that we have to be thankful for.

Last Monday I took Ben to his occupational therapy class, as I have on pretty much every Monday afternoon for the past year and half.  Afternoon OT sessions twice a week became my new normal after Ben’s autism diagnosis.  Ben’s therapy is on the other side of town, and it takes us a good half hour to get there from his school, so depending on traffic, we either arrive slightly early, right on time, or slightly late.  Ben loves going to “the gym” as he calls it, and fine motor days are one of his favorites.  He can hardly wait to head back into the gym, filled with all of his favorite sensory goodies, from the trampoline to the crash mats, and multiple swings and a ball pit. 

When we arrive early it usually takes all of my powers of persuasion to convince him to wait quietly in the lobby until the other group is finished.  If I turn my back for a split second, Ben bolts into the gym, announcing loudly, “Here I am!!” and begins racing from one piece of equipment to the next.  Thankfully, the staff is quite familiar with Ben and his needs, and they graciously accommodate him.

Today we arrived the dreaded five minutes early.  I braced myself for a torturous five minutes of placating him until the previous group finished their session.  Surprisingly, my fears were unwarranted.  After letting Ben know that we were early, he calmly removed his shoes, put them in the cubby, and sat down on the waiting room floor and joined two other little boys in a Lego building project.  His little body showed none of its usual signs of restless energy and agitation at being forced to wait for a hugely preferred activity.  

He sat and waited.

No stream of endless questions, such as “Why we’re early?”  No bolting into the gym.  Nothing but calm play.  At one point he looked up as he heard the “goodbye song” playing in the gym, a sign that the current class was winding down.  “My turn soon,” he said, a simple statement of fact, and then returned to his Legos.

A few minutes later, when his teacher came to tell the boys it was their turn, he jumped up and quickly joined the group.  I watched him from the parent viewing area as he completed the obstacle course- pulling his body through the squeeze machine that he used to avoid, winding through cones that used to give him such difficulty.  In fact, a year ago, he would have spent the first five minutes of class running circles around the perimeter of the gym before he would have been ready to join the group at all.

As I watched his OT session, waves of gratitude filled my heart as I realized how thankful I am. 

Thankful for the team of people who have worked so hard with Ben to get him to the place he is today. 

Thankful for OT staff at this gym who have patiently worked with him since the early days following his diagnosis, when I had no clue what sensory diet or self-regulation meant. 

Thankful for his speech and language teachers who are helping him to develop the tools to communicate effectively and engage in appropriate social interaction.  Because of their efforts I can now have a back and forth conversation with my son, and he is beginning to play with others on the playground instead of just wandering aimlessly at recess.  

Thankful for Ben's kindergarten teacher who challenges his mind while caring for his tender heart. Thankful that she structures her class to allow plenty of opportunities for movement so that, even at the end of the day, he is still calm and regulated enough to take part in therapy.

Better yet, I’m thankful for all of the teachers who work with Ben at school, who smile and greet him every day, and who take the time to know him and care about him.

I am thankful for his friends who save him a spot at the table each morning before school and say,
“Hey, Ben, we’ve got the Legos ready.  Want to play?”

I am thankful for my family who see a little boy and not a disability and who love him unconditionally.  I don’t know what I would do without their love and support.

I am thankful for so many individuals who have played a part in helping Ben to grow into the person who he is today. 

Most of all, though, I am thankful for Ben.  Thankful for the millions of little ways that he enriches my life.  I'm thankful for his kindness and unwavering love.  And I’m thankful for the view he allows me of his world.  Ben has taught me lessons that I have applied time and again.  Lessons of tolerance, patience, and acceptance.   

We have a long way to go, and some days are better than others, but today I am thankful.  Thankful for the little things that are not so little after all.

An InLinkz Link-up

Through the Tears

                                                 

In this picture, Ben is warming up with his coach before the big game.  

            My little boy is sensitive and kind.  He is quick to love, but is also quick to have his feelings hurt.  I try to always speak to him in calm, gentle tones, but occasionally I slip and raise my voice. When this happens, he will literally crumble before my eyes.  “Sorry you yelled,” he’ll say as tears swim in his eyes. 

            Some days Ben’s tolerance level for life is much higher and very little will faze him.  But every so often he’ll have a day where he is just extra emotional.  Saturday was one of those days.  Maybe it’s because it was the day after Halloween and he was tired from all of the excitement (and sugar) from the night before.  Maybe it’s because one of the players on his soccer team was tormenting his teammates by hugging each one too tightly and generally causing mayhem.  Whatever the reason, Ben was having one of his “quick to cry” days. 

            I think we’ve all experienced the sensation of feeling the tears come on and trying to fight them back, but finally succumbing to our body’s intense need to let the emotions pour out.  As my high school English teacher used to say, "Our bodies betray us."  I remember certain moments as a child when sadness, anger, or frustration would overtake me and I would find myself in a state of tears, and, as much as I would try to stop their flow, to control my breathing, my body would rack with sobs, and the crying would have to run it's course.  As an adult, I am much better able to control my emotions, but there are still times when tears spring to the surface.  I truly believe that Ben hates crying, but his emotions are always right there, just under the surface.  Most days he can control them.  Some days he cannot.  I have written more about his intense emotions here.  On the days when the tears just have to come out, I try to remember how I felt as a child when my body was racked with emotion.  I try to remember and be there for him.

            Ben’s response to his emotions has changed over time.  When he was a baby, he would scream, seemingly for hours on end.  We called this his “red Ben” stage.  We often could not figure out the cause of his intense crying spurts, but I always got the sense that he was overwhelmed by his world.  He would screw his eyes shut so that he wouldn’t have to look at the world around him.  During this time, I would rock him, hold him tight, and soothe him until he would eventually calm down.  When he got a little older, as tears would pour down his face, he would name his emotion.  “I’m crying…” he would say, often sounding as surprised as we were at his quick change of emotion.  Now, often as he cries, he gives us a running dialogue through his tears of exactly why he is crying.  “I’m crying because I want my mommy and daddy…”  And, almost always, after his crying jag, he will apologize for his tears.

            And so it was during his soccer game on Saturday.  The team was standing on the field, waiting for the kickoff, and suddenly tears started pouring down Ben’s face.  This was the first time he had cried all season.  As the other team kicked the ball, players running around him, Ben stood in the middle of the field and continued to sob.  Finally, the coach let Ben run to us on the sidelines.  I pulled him on my lap, and, as the tears poured down his face, he breathed in deeply as we had practiced, in through his nose like he was smelling a flower, and out through his mouth to blow out the candle.  As we sat and watched his team chase the ball, slowly the tears subsided.  A minute later he looked up at me and simply said, “I love you Mommy,” And, with that, he jumped off my lap, ran on the field, back into the game.

Respectful Self-Advocacy

                                  

Ben is enjoying a dinner out with mom that he proudly ordered by himself.

“Students will write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.” -5th Grade Opinion Writing Standard

Sounds like a lofty goal for children, doesn’t it?

Opinion writing is now part of the Florida writing standards for children in grades K-12.

As much as I love talking about education, this article is not about teaching kids to write.

This article is about advocacy.

Because a person’s ability to express his opinion is so much more than just a writing skill. 

It is a life skill.

Recently, a group of colleagues and I got together to talk about how elementary school children could learn to write opinion essays.  Our goal was to look at how opinion writing progressed across grades, starting in kindergarten.   Are children as young as five years old capable of doing this work?  We believe so.  Our goal is to first teach children how to engage in conversations where they will learn to present their point of view using evidence, and then teach them how to apply this concept to writing.

During the summer, I had the privilege of attending a Teacher’s College Reading Institute held at Columbia University in New York City.  One keynote speaker, Mary Ehrenworth, spoke on this very topic.  One of the first questions that she posed to us was this:

Why would we want to have teachers and kids become good at argumentation?

After the audience discussed this for a few moments, Mary quieted the audience. She looked around the auditorium packed full of educators from around the world and asked us, “Do we want to teach a generation of compliant kids or a generation who can be activists?  Kids may think they are being polite when sometimes they are just being compliant.”

This statement has replayed itself in my mind months after the keynote.  I find myself coming back to it, turning it over in my mind.   I am still thinking about the implications of her statement for myself, for my son, and for all of us.

As a child, I was quiet, meek, and mild mannered.   Looking back on it now, I realize that I was compliant, and I was rewarded for being compliant.

I was a good student.  I followed the rules, got good grades, and didn’t cause any fuss.  During each parent and teacher conference, the teacher would tell my parents some variation of the following: “Jessica is such a pleasure to have in class.  She is a model student.  She is a bit shy, but she always gets her work done and is such a good helper.  I wish I had a whole class of Jessicas!”

However, my quiet, passive approach to school did not necessarily translate into a positive learning experience for me.  I have very few memories of my elementary school years.  They passed in a hazy blur of watching the clock and finding quiet ways to pass the time.  I was a smart student, but school did very little to challenge me, especially the elementary school years.

There were times when I needed things from the teachers but was afraid to speak up and ask for them.  It wasn’t that I was scared of my teachers.  It was that I didn’t know how to respectfully speak up and ask for what I needed, especially if it involved interrupting them when they were teaching or when they appeared to be busy. 

One very embarrassing example was in first grade when I really, really needed to use the restroom.  However, the teacher kept talking and talking to the class.  I waited and waited until she would take a breath from her instruction so that I could ask her to go…until I could wait no longer.  I still feel the shame of being that first grader who had to go to the clinic for a change of clothes. 

As I grew older, I rarely got into in any sort of argument with another person or expressed my view if I knew it was different from what the other person felt.  Most of the time, I would agree with the other person’s idea, whether it was a place to eat or a topic of conversation.  I rarely corrected someone, even if I knew they were wrong.

As a young teacher, I was excited to share new and innovative approaches with other teachers on my team.  I quickly learned that not all appreciated these new and different ideas.  Once a particular teammate cornered me in the hallway and told me that “we’ve done things this way for the past ten years.  Who are you to change that?” After that, I stayed very quiet at team meetings.  I was afraid to voice my opinion.  I would close my door and do my thing.  It took years and a different school before I felt brave enough to share my ideas again.

Since then, I have grown into my ability to engage in respectful self-advocacy.  In my role as a literacy coach, I often have to play the part of facilitator, a person who helps to ensure that all voices are heard.  I have learned how to engage in respectful dialogue that honors different points of view.  I have learned that it is both important and necessary to engage in this type of healthy discourse.  It allows positive change and growth to happen.  I also learned that listening to points of view that I don’t agree with, without giving my own perspective, is tacitly agreeing with that person’s thinking.  I have learned to add my own perspective to the conversation in a respectful way.  Even if it doesn’t change the other person’s mind, at least I have voiced my own opinion and thus provided an alternative point of view for others to consider.

Unfortunately, the art of self-advocacy and engaging in healthy debate was not something that I learned through school, but now I have the opportunity to teach it to other children, and most importantly to my son.

It is even more important for my son to learn self-advocacy than it was for me.

My son has a disability that impairs his ability to communicate with others. 

When Ben was first diagnosed with autism, teaching him self-advocacy did not even enter my mind.

It should have.

When Ben was little, he had difficulty expressing his needs with words, and I was embarrassed by the attention that Ben would draw on us.  I remember when he would have a meltdown in the grocery store, I thought that every person in the store was hearing him and judging us.  And, even if they were, back then other people's opinions bothered me a lot more than they should have.  I had not yet learned that behavior is communication, and Ben was expressing his needs to me. 

Then came a brief period of time when I wanted Ben to act like the other kids.  I thought this autism thing was temporary, and that I could outsmart it.  I believed that through great therapy Ben would eventually overcome his autism.  And then, when he was finally like the other kids, everything would be better.  I have since learned that autism is a part of Ben’s neurological makeup, and the ultimate goal is not for Ben to "beat" his autism.  The ultimate goal is for Ben to become a confident, successful autistic adult who knows his strengths and limitations.

Many (not all) autism therapies teach compliance and strive to make the autistic individual indistinguishable from his “normal” peers.  They reward for good eye contact.  They reward when the child raises his hands on command.  If the child won’t raise his hand, then the therapist raises the child’s hands for him and gives the child a reward.  I have read many, many articles written by autistic adults that speak of therapies such as this.  They tell of how they felt physically violated by these approaches.  Rather than learning to be “normal”, the message that they learned is that their bodies are not their own anymore.  Rather than learning tools for self-advocacy, they learned to obey adults at all costs, even if their mind and body was telling them this was wrong.  Passive compliance makes this already vulnerable population especially susceptible to abuse of all kinds.  You can read articles like “Quiet Hands”  and an article about ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, that offer an autistic adult's point of view on the ramifications of these different approaches.  

Encouraging self-advocacy does not mean ignoring the rules.  I expect Ben to be respectful and to have good manners.  Autism is not an excuse for bad behavior, but it is important that those in his life recognize that his behavior is communication, and to look for what he is trying to communicate through his behavior so that we can channel him towards more appropriate forms of communication. 

The child who is a self-advocate at school is so much more than that impertinant student who tells the teacher that they spelled something wrong on the board, or they marked an answer wrong on a test.

Already, Ben is learning to ask for what he needs and wants in appropriate ways.  He is starting to label his feelings and recognize when his environment is becoming overwhelming.  He is learning to let his teachers know when he needs a break.  He is starting to tell the children on the playground who play too rough, “I don’t like that.  I want you to stop.”  All forms of self-advocacy.

Ben’s actions may never appear “normal” to the rest of society, but I don’t believe that he should have to change the person who is to make society more comfortable.  If he’s different from the rest, that’s okay with me.  Being different is not a character flaw.  Just because he doesn’t act the way certain people think he needs to act, it does not make him inferior.  It just makes him Ben.

It hurts me to know that some people who will come into his life will not understand this.  They will seek to change him into something that is easier for them to accept…something closer to what they need him to be.  But, in doing so, they are forcing him to compromise on the very essence of who he is, and I’ve watched the repercussions of those actions. 

And so, I plan to teach him respectful self-advocacy. 

This starts by giving Ben a voice.

This is why Ben now orders for himself in a restaurant and asks the server when he needs more lemonade or cheese on his pasta.

This is why, whenever an adult asks me a question that is meant for Ben, I tell them to ask him.  I want others to see Ben as an individual and recognize that his point of view matters.

The more Ben has the opportunity to express his feelings and ideas, the more he can begin to change a belief system about what people with autism can and cannot do.

And, if he can’t succeed in changing the thinking of others, at least he can know, deep inside, that he is a person of worth, and that his ideas have value.

This is my hope for my son, and for all children.

Because I would like to raise a generation of activists.

Our world needs it.

Musings of a soccer mom #sensoryhop

Ben (far left) working hard to follow coach's lead during soccer practice.

There are so many things swirling around in my mind today, and it is hard to know where to begin.  As with so many things, it is probably best to begin at the beginning, so here goes.  Today is soccer Saturday.  This is the second Saturday that Ben has played soccer this season, and this is Ben’s second season playing soccer.  I guess that officially makes me a soccer mom.

There are only five total players on Ben’s team.  Well, six, counting the little boy on the sidelines who refuses to leave his mom’s side.  Most of the players are between one to two years younger than Ben.  We asked to keep Ben in the younger league this year rather than moving him up, and it appears to be the right decision.  Ben is developmentally on par with his peers, in both skill level and maturity.

Overall, this season is going much smoother for him, even though he had an amazing coach last season.  As I watch Ben performing the practice drills with the team, I marvel at how far he has come. He listens to his coach.  He follows coach’s directions, weaving the ball between the cones before kicking the ball triumphantly into the goal.  As I think back to last season, when he would kick the cones over and kick and miss the ball as frequently as he made contact, I recognized tremendous growth.  As with many things in life for Ben, it takes him longer to master a skill or a milestone then the “average” child, but he always gets there in his own time.

This season, he is feeling confident because he knows what he is doing.  Ben understands that the point of soccer is to kick the ball in the goal, and each time the ball swishes in the net, he gleefully exclaims, “1 point…2 points…3 points!”

As the game begins, Ben runs hard to keep up with the other players.  He still holds back and doesn’t like to get in too close to the cluster of little bodies that swarm around the ball, but he stays much closer to the action then last year.  Today, for the first time, he even kicks the ball in the goal.  The greater the energy of the crowd, the more charged he becomes.  As the crowd cheers, Ben’s body seems to become charged with electricity, and he leaps in the air, arms flailing wildly about.  

I notice that Ben’s arm flapping and other stimming (self-stimulatory) behaviors become much more pronounced in the moments prior to the whistle blowing, as the teams gather on opposite ends of the field and wait.  As soon as the whistle blows, the extra flapping subsides and he concentrates on the game. 

The sun rises higher in the Florida sky.  It is going to be another warm day.  There is no hint of chilly fall weather here.  My mind begins to wander.  I think back to an article I recently read called “The right- and surprisingly wrong- ways to get kids to sit still in class”  You can read the article here.  The article talked about how kids today don’t get nearly enough physical exercise.  At school, the average amount of time outside is about 20 minutes a day, though the author claims that children need an hour or more of physical activity during the school day to be calm, alert, and ready to learn.  As a teacher I believe this to be true.  When the author mentioned this idea of devoting an hour of the school day to exercise to a group of teachers, however, they literally laughed out loud and explained that this was sadly impossible given the curriculum demands and mandates.  Again, I know this to be true.  The teachers in the article talked about how they provide their students with five minute “brain breaks” of physical activity to let the kids “get their wiggles out” between subjects, such as math and reading.  The author, who is an occupational therapist, said that while this is beneficial, it does not resolve the core issues facing our children.  The author posited that one of the contributing factors to the rise in ADHD, especially in young kids, is lack of time for physical activity.  Activities such as rolling down hills, spinning around on a merry go round, and going upside down that were hallmarks of our childhood served a very important purpose for us as children.  All of these physical activities are necessary to stimulate the vestibular system in order to have a healthy, balanced body, and sadly, our kids today get very little of it.

I reflect on this and think about my own son.  I know that he has approximately a half hour of outside time during the school day, whether it is through structured PE or recess.  I know that the teachers take the kids outside on the playground after school as part of the after school program. I know Ben’s teacher builds in opportunities for movement in the classroom.  They cannot devote more time then this to exercise, and I understand.  I know the requirements all too well.

I watch my child on the soccer field, waiting for the whistle to blow.  I watch his fidgets and wonder…Is there more I can be doing?  Is there more I should be doing? 

Just the day before, Ben’s teacher and I touched base over the phone, as we frequently do.  She and his OT at school had been talking a lot about Ben’s difficulty focusing.  As I watch Ben on the soccer field, I notice his stamina waning after the first fifteen minutes or so of the game.  Not only is he getting physically fatigued (partially due to the fact that only one player is able to sit out at a time during the game), but he is starting to lose mental focus.  He is slower to notice the direction in which the ball is traveling and catch up to his teammates.  His coach has to redirect him more frequently towards the action.  The arm flaps become more pronounced as he waits for the whistle to blow.  And then I think to myself, “He is only five.  Is it fair to expect so much?”

My husband wonders aloud if this is how he acts at school, and I reply that it mostly likely is.  Kindergarten today is very different then how it was when I was in school.   As an educator, I know just how academic kindergarten has become.  I know the expectations for the children.  Thankfully, Ben has a strong math sense and is showing potential as a reader.   In fact, his math and reading skills are above where he needs to be for his age, but I know that this does not always translate to his performance in the classroom.  I know that his difficulty focusing will also impact his test scores.  Yes, even in kindergarten he will take a wide variety of assessments during the school year.  Luckily, Ben has the testing accommodation that allows him to have tests given to him in small segments.  Otherwise, he rushes and performs much lower than his true ability, as happened for him on a recent computer test that all kindergarteners in our district took. 

I am all for high academic standards.  I believe students can rise to high expectations and I believe in the ability of all children to learn.  I know that Ben has an amazing teacher who structures her classroom in a way that allows children to thrive and learn at the highest levels.  I truly believe that Ben has won the teacher lottery by being in her classroom.  He is learning so much and is thriving under her instruction and care.  But, as I watch Ben play his soccer game, I start thinking forward to when Ben will be in first grade…third grade...middle school and beyond.  The curriculum and assessments are hard enough for the “average” student.  How will Ben perform as the demands of school continue to increase? 

This week I gave three trainings for teachers on curriculum and the new assessments that will replace the statewide FCAT testing for our state this year.  Other states across the nation are implementing similar assessments for the children.  For the writing test this year, fourth and fifth graders will have 90 minutes to read anywhere between two and four passages, all on the same topic, and then they will be expected to write an essay either giving their opinion or facts and information on the topic, using evidence from the articles that they read.  For our fifth graders, they also have the extra step of having to type this on the computer.  By the time Ben gets to third grade, as it stands now, he will be taking that same test on the computer, because that is the plan for the rollout in the coming years.  Third grade is three years away.  I think about the expectations, and I look at my child and wonder, “Will he be ready?” and, most importantly, “What can I do to prepare him?”

As literacy coach, I receive information about the curriculum and new assessments, often before the teachers at my own school.  One of my jobs is to train and prepare teachers for these changes, and yet I feel ill equipped as a parent to prepare my own son for them. Even with all I do at home to reinforce the concepts that I know he is learning at school, I still feel as if I am doing a poor job. 

By the time I pick Ben up from school most days, it is dinnertime, and then after homework, it’s time for bath, books, and bed.  Twice a week Ben attends private Occupational Therapy to work on his fine motor and social skills.  He puts in long days every day, just as I do.  As I think about the importance of physical exercise, and the relationship between physical activity and focus and achievement in school, I’m thinking about what else I can do to help Ben beyond soccer on Saturdays. 

What physical activities do you do with your child?  Do you find it has a positive impact on your child’s ability to focus in school?  What are your worries for your child and their future in school?

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