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Post by elaine on Jan 25, 2015 4:51:02 GMT
Is the best! If your high school has a Best Buddies club, please see about getting your special needs child involved. My 9th grader with high functioning autism joined Best Buddies in November. They meet monthly and he has loved it. Tonight they had a bowling activity planned and over 40 kids showed up - a great mix between special needs kids and neurotypicals. They have paired my son with a very nice young woman who will be his buddy for the rest of the year. We are lucky because one of the star football players has a brother with Autism in my son's grade, so the team has been involved and supportive. My son, who finds most social events painful and won't do them if I don't accompany him was happy to let me drop him off tonight. I love Best Buddies! link to more info about them |
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Deleted
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May 9, 2024 21:42:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 5:17:26 GMT
My daughter was a buddy until one of the students started stalker her.
He is now a 20 y/0 at her high school and had to be told several times to leave her alone.
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Post by elaine on Jan 25, 2015 5:18:50 GMT
My daughter was a buddy until one of the students started stalker her. He is now a 20 y/0 at her high school and had to be told several times to leave her alone. How scary! I'm sorry that happened. |
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Post by freecharlie on Jan 25, 2015 5:22:40 GMT
My daughter was a buddy until one of the students started stalker her. He is now a 20 y/0 at her high school and had to be told several times to leave her alone. we have a young lady like that. She isn't stalking, but doesn't understand boundary issues. We've had to make her delete phone numbers off of her phone and tell her she can't bother xyz anymore. |
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
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Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Jan 25, 2015 5:38:57 GMT
Our high school has a very active Best Buddies organization. They also offer a special PE class that the regular Ed students can take -- they are paired with special education students in the class. It is a popular PE option.
I will say that my daughters did not get involved. One was interested but had to make the decision not to participate because she was overloaded with classes and athletics as it was. However, as a special educator, I love that the program has such a big presence in the school.
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Post by Basket1lady on Jan 25, 2015 5:55:09 GMT
Our high school has a very active Best Buddies organization. They also offer a special PE class that the regular Ed students can take -- they are paired with special education students in the class. It is a popular PE option. I will say that my daughters did not get involved. One was interested but had to make the decision not to participate because she was overloaded with classes and athletics as it was. However, as a special educator, I love that the program has such a big presence in the school. What a great idea! We had a special needs kid as a manager for the football team. He basically just hung out on the sidelines and refilled the water bottles, but he was a fun presence and I was proud of how kind the players were to him. (I was the team mom and the photographer, so I was down on the field with the players.) |
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 28, 2014 1:52:46 GMT
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Post by TankTop on Jan 25, 2015 13:51:04 GMT
Our high school has a very active program as well. They do a ton of activities like dances and outings. However, I have a question. Each year they have a basketball game at half time of one of our varsity games. The "neurotypical" kids do not play. It always seems very...I don't know....very....  ?? I don't know the word. It seems like the kids are on display for everyone to ooh and ah over. Like, it is more a feel good, look at how awesome our community is, we let these kids play on our big court in front of our big crowd kind of thing. Let's all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, we let these kids participate. Yea us! I guess I would be more impressed if we had a real game with real crowds to support these kids and did not use them as half time entertainment. I would love to hear Elaine's opinion of these kind of events. Her perspective might change mine. I could totally be off base, and I am willing to admit that. |
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Post by elaine on Jan 25, 2015 16:34:27 GMT
Our high school has a very active program as well. They do a ton of activities like dances and outings. However, I have a question. Each year they have a basketball game at half time of one of our varsity games. The "neurotypical" kids do not play. It always seems very...I don't know....very.... ?? I don't know the word. It seems like the kids are on display for everyone to ooh and ah over. Like, it is more a feel good, look at how awesome our community is, we let these kids play on our big court in front of our big crowd kind of thing. Let's all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, we let these kids participate. Yea us! I guess I would be more impressed if we had a real game with real crowds to support these kids and did not use them as half time entertainment. I would love to hear Elaine's opinion of these kind of events. Her perspective might change mine. I could totally be off base, and I am willing to admit that. It sounds like it would be better if everyone involved in the program played, including the neurotypical buddies. I don't know what the reasoning is for that. I will say that trying to have a whole game just for the kids probably wouldn't work for a number of reasons: people just wouldn't come in the same numbers that they do for the regular games, so there would be the parents of those kids, and a handful of other people, and the kids wouldn't know what it feels like to play in front of a crowd. Another problem would be that that many of the kids really couldn't play a whole game. While some could, many wouldn't last through the whole 40 minutes (or whatever they are in HS). Many probably don't know all the rules of the game - fouls, traveling, etc. I think a short - 15 min. - game at halftime at a varsity game seems ideal for the reasons above. It is a short doable time that will leave the kids exhilarated, not exhausted, and it is in front of a crowd. While to you and many in the audience, it may feel a little odd, like the kids are on display; but I would guess that it is all about giving the kids the best experience they possibly can. So, the thinking and focus is on "how can we give these kids a successful experience where they can feel what the athletes feel in terms of performing in front of a cheering crowd?", and not on "hey look at our club and how great we are." I don't know for certain, of course, because I don't know the people at your school. But I know how the people here operate. The idea behind many activities is how to give the kids typical experiences that other high school kids regularly experience without giving it a thought, but within parameters that our kids can succeed at. Sorry that this is a novel, does any of it make sense? |
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by TankTop on Jan 25, 2015 16:39:27 GMT
Totally. I am glad to have your perspective.
I have always enjoyed watching and cheering, but wondered how the parents felt. I am glad to hear that you see it in the spirit I am sure it was intended.
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Post by elaine on Jan 25, 2015 17:23:09 GMT
Totally. I am glad to have your perspective. I have always enjoyed watching and cheering, but wondered how the parents felt. I am glad to hear that you see it in the spirit I am sure it was intended. Thank you for cheering and not getting up for a trip to the concession stand instead! My older son is fairly high functioning and would love an experience like that, but wouldn't make it past 10-15 minutes. He would love the crowd, as long as he didn't have to make eye contact with anyone.  |
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?? I don't know the word. It seems like the kids are on display for everyone to ooh and ah over. Like, it is more a feel good, look at how awesome our community is, we let these kids play on our big court in front of our big crowd kind of thing. Let's all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, we let these kids participate. Yea us! I guess I would be more impressed if we had a real game with real crowds to support these kids and did not use them as half time entertainment. 
