Skip to main content

Learning from Special Needs kids

Frequently, we get caught in the trap of trying so hard to "fix" the problems with our kids that we ignore the lessons we could learn from them.  And this is particularly the case with special needs kids of all types.

As you probably know if you're been reading this blog for a while, my son, Duncan, is autistic and we're working with him to help him beat some of the challenges he has.  But at the same time, it's very interesting to watch him do things and react to things in a way that's filled with instinct and id.

For example, Duncan makes no bones about it when he's tired and wants to rest.  His body is telling him to do so and he's going to do it, by gum.  How many of us could take a lesson from this?  Instead of constantly driving hard and trying to achieve all the time, we need to listen to our bodies and take breaks when we need to.

The Grok Squat
Another example that I really love (and especially given my reading I've done on places like Mark's Daily Apple and the like) is that when Duncan does get physically tired, he immediately squats down into what might be termed the Grok Squat.  This was really noticed during our recent trip to Arizona where we did a lot of hiking with my parents.  During a hike of Ramsey Canyon there, Duncan would frequently just stop for a couple moments in the squat position, get his strength back, and then be ready to head off up the trail again.  My parents in particular were really impressed with  his flexibility there, and my mother said that's something she's going to work on.

But the key thing is that this was just him working on instinct.  He's doing something because it feels right to his body, not because of any peer pressure, what he saw on TV, etc.  He's working off bodily instinct more than most because of his autism.

Other examples of this include his shunning of sugary foods.  He's not a big juice drinker or candy eater.  Granted, like any kid he loves his mac'n'cheese, but the sugar factor really doesn't matter to him.  He'd rather have white milk than chocolate milk, for example, and wants his scrambled eggs for breakfast in the morning instead of cereal or other stuff like that.  Is this his body telling him that it doesn't need that stuff?  Are his increased senses in some regards telling him that those things aren't good for him?  Does he know his body's reacting better when he starts the day with fats and proteins like eggs?

There's truly a lot we can learn from special needs individuals in our communities, and especially in our families.

How have special needs individuals in your life taught you something?  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Your Goals Might Not Be My Goals

I got a tweet to my @Train4AutismCLB account the other day, just out of the blue, that really got me thinking about goals and motivations.  For those who aren't in the autism community, there's a bit of a rift regarding the charity Autism Speaks, which is the biggest, most visible autism charity out there.  Many people who are higher-functioning autistics believe that one of the organization's stated goals of "curing" autism would only take away a facet of their personalities that make them what they are.  Then there are those who would love to have a cure for autism or at least some way to relieve some of the nastier aspects of autism and help their loved ones to have an easier time functioning in today's society.  It's a fine line, no doubt.  But the tweet I got was from someone whose profile said they were an aspie, which is shorthand for someone with Asperger's Syndrome.  This is a high-functioning form of autism where people are very smar...

Caffeine and Cortisol - a 30-Day Experiment

No Caffeine for Me! Today, I began upon a 30-day experiment to reduce my cortisol levels by removing coffee from my diet. The goal is to see how it might be affecting my cognitive function and my belly fat. Cortisol is a hormone that is related to stress .  At a very basic level, cortisol is created as a response to stressors in our environment.  Back when we were still chucking spears at deer and chasing down antelope, cortisol was helping to preserve our lives by giving us quick energy by signalling to our livers that it was time to engage in a process known as gluconeogenesis. This process is basically the breakdown of amino acids, the building blocks of protein, into glucose - one of the two monosaccharides (the healthy one) that our bodies use for fuel. Picture this - you're walking across the street, enjoying the day, when suddenly some inattentive driver tries to turn and doesn't see you.  Your heart rate speeds up, and you get a little burst of speed to quickly sp...

How Essential Oils Are Manly

The real man's toolkit: essential oils and duck tape.  "Yeah, I use essential oils." Silence. This is the normal reaction I get why I, as an adult male human, tell other men that I use essential oils instead of things like aspirin, Tums or Rolaids, Ben Gay, or any number of other pharmaceuticals. There's this impression out there that essential oils are girly, I guess, or that they're like most other products that are primarily for making things smell nicer: they're for the ladies. Or even that they're new agey and woo-woo - to be used only when listening to Windham Hill CDs and cleansing your chakras. Real men don't care about smells, right? They thrive on sweat, piss and vinegar. They belch, fart, and otherwise release smells into the air that are simultaneously hilarious and relieving to the body. They get upset because their wives bought decorative soaps and guest towels for the bathroom that they're not allowed to use. They frown a...