My nephew is in high school and he is a special needs kid. He attends a class with other kids like him. His birthday is coming up in July so my sister set up a party last Saturday where he and his friends could get together at her house to celebrate the beginning of summer and his upcoming birthday. It was easier to get everyone together now before they started their summer break with their families.
I offered to help out. I did a few grocery runs and helped set it up. There were about ten kids that attended. I only met one of them before. A few of them were shy and a few were definitely not. I talked to all of them at various times. I had some in-depth conversations with a few of them. It turns out some of them have some very ambitious goals. I hope they set the world on fire. Video games were played. The karaoke machine made an appearance while my brother-in-law barbecued burgers and hot dogs. One of the girls turned out to be a surprisingly good singer.
After the food everyone headed outside. My sister bought a couple of water balloon kits for them to use. The kids were filling bowls with water balloons. It should have clicked that stockpiling water balloons was an ominous sign. The adults were starting to get targeted. My sister has about ten super soakers in her garage so the fight was on. I stayed out of it until a couple of them ganged up on me with water balloons. I grabbed a fearsome water cannon and got them back. Then I hunted for a kid with no weapon and handed mine over so they could blast someone, the party is for the kids after all. They should be the ones having the most fun.
I got reminded of a few things. Do not underestimate people, especially the special kids, and I am in lousy physical shape. If the water war went on for a few hours I would have been toast. They all had a great time and so did I. I think I made some new friends.
Good on you, BW. Many shy away from special needs kids, acting like they are contagious. I have no doubt that you helped to make the day memorable for them.
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandsons has asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. When you get to know him, you find that he is brilliant. He studies subjects in school that have names I can't even pronounce. He has been taking flying lessons for at least six of his 17 years. He wants to be a pilot and I have no doubt he will attain his goal. My point is that many would just have written him off as a lost cause because of his disability. Those people would lose out getting to know one incredibly awesome kid. I am blessed to be his Grandma.
My sister and her husband deserve all the credit. They are great at this kind of thing. I was just trying to help out.
DeleteKudos to you BW for not only helping out but actively participating in the party. As the mother of a 27 yr old son with Aspergers you have no idea how much your interest and attention means to these kids. Most people just ignore them and lots of special needs kids really want to interact with "normal" folks. And blessings on your sister and her husband, it takes special people to nurture special kids.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a memorable day for everyone there.
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