My youngest son, Noah is a special needs kid.
More specifically he is Autistic.
Normal day to day life isn't normal in our house.
Noah can be a ticking time bomb.
You never know what will set him off
No pop-tarts? Outburst
Don't have red chips? (Doritos) Meltdown
Moved his toys overnight? Eruption.
Over the years we have placed Noah with OT, ABA, and Speech therapist. These have been a tremendous help getting him able to communicate, express his needs and wants, and perform day to day activities. He still has his idiosyncrasies such as jumping up and down or flapping his arms when excited. He also does laps around the house when overwhelmed to help calm down. Noah's speech is improved, and he is able to communicate in his own language. For those familiar with him know these are routine behaviors and speech patterns. When we first meet people, and Noah flaps his arms or runs around we tell them that everything is fine he is just autistic. Most folks shrug is off or it's a conversation starter.
One of Noah's favorite activities is bowling. He absolutely loves it; he jumps up and down between bowls, flaps his arms as the ball travels down the alley, watches the ball until it reaches the end of the lane and only bowls with one ball. Noah will jump up and down until his ball arrives at the ball return then off, we go for another turn. We were super pumped that the base offered a bowling league for kids of all ages-we signed Noah up immediately. The first few weeks were a little rough figuring things out with how the league worked. After a week or two things were figured out and the kids had a ton of fun. Noah would be so excited to bowl. He would routinely ask, "Is today a bowling day?"
"Yes, Noah today is a bowling day"
"Yay! I'm so excited it's going to be so much fun!"
It was all good. Noah had his bowling, and we were able to watch him in his own element being a "normal" kid.
This was until the other night.
One of the helpers with the league had an issue with Noah's jumping up and down, flapping his arms and watching the ball come back through the ball return. She would routinely correct Noah's behavior. At first it was innocent, then it became mean. Her corrections became more and more angry. Noah was getting frustrated. I could see it in his face. He was backed into a corner and wanted out. It got to the point where I had to step in and let her know he is autistic and that's why his behaviors are a little odd.
She told me very sarcastically, "Well I'm going to treat him like any other kid"
"With all due respect ma'am that's not going to work, he is a unique kid."
"Like I said before I'm going to treat him like any other kid"
I was shocked at the ignorance of her.
"He's autistic...."
Before I could finish the sentence, she cut me off
"Have you heard of the special Olympics?" Her voice was angry dripping with an insulting tone.
I was speechless, angry, in shock about how someone could be so willfully stupid and unemphatic.
Noah was so defeated that he wanted to go home. Normally, we have to pull him away from bowling. That night he asked to go home early.
On the ride I called my wife to inform her of the situation and on cue Noah said, "Mommy, that lady made me sad"
So, whomever you are. Thanks for hurting the feelings of a six-year-old. You ruined my kid's favorite activity.
Your asinine comments towards a special need kid not only show how truly ignorant you are, but how much of a piece of shit you are. 99% of the people we interact with have no problem with Noah.
You did
You are the 1% that ruins things for special needs kids. You are the 1% that puts my wife and I in conflict about attending events and signing our children up for activities.
Thank you for the reminder that people are douchebags