Ok. I am being the good mom and taking Jacob to soccer practice. Last week was the first practice and it was SO hot out. I felt bad for the kids on the field running around.
Jacob did pretty well, considering he has never played before. So tonight, here I sit in the heat and with the bugs. I hate bugs. Wonder if I would be considered less of a good mom if I watched the practice from the safety of the car? I imagine there have been lots of soccer moms who have sat in their cars to watch their kids games and practices.
Jacob is doing pretty well. He is trying to hustle, which I know is hard for him. He’s just lazy poor thing. But he is putting forth the effort to follow and chase the ball and be there for his teammates.
Tonight there is a uneven number of kids and many of the exercises require you to match up with a partner. It seems to me that Jacob is frequently without a partner. I don’t know if its cause the other boys know each other and purposely block him out or if its just dumb luck on his part.
But as a mom of an Aspergers Kid, who frequently has been excluded in the past, it pains me a little. Because Jacob has been excluded in the past, I am very conscious of when he is left without a partner. I have to stop and think about whether it’s just because of the situation or if the Aspergers might be holding him back from choosing a partner.
See Aspergers is part of the Autism spectrum which can imprison the kids within themselves. While Aspergers is not as severe and most kids with it can live normal, mainstreamed lives, they can still be imprisoned within themselves. They prefer to play by themselves because socializing is hard for them. They don’t get the social cues from their playmates sometimes. I have seen it happen with Jacob.
As a mom who has advocated for everything that Jacob needs to succeed, I also have to balance when I NEED to advocate for him or when I just have to let it lie. I also have to teach him how to advocate for himself. Talk about a delicate balance.
Jacob knows he has Aspergers and while he hasn’t recently, in the past he has tried to use it as an excuse to get out of doing stuff he doesn’t want to do. He has had to be taught that Aspergers is not disability or a handicap. It means that there are some things he needs to work extra hard to accomplish and that he may need “helps”. But, most importantly, he is normal.
And I have been a little afraid of him playing soccer. Soccer is not typically recommended for Aspergers kids. But Jacob wanted to play so here we are. With the bugs. Did I mention that I hate bugs?
