Our Dodge Ball Victory

AJ left Indian Guides smiling and talking about the dodge ball game. "I had fun at indan geeds, Dad. I threw the ball." As he talked his hands mimed the act of throwing. I am happy he enjoyed himself and had fun. I struggle knowing by the third game all of the other kids played like he wasn't there. His opponents stopped throwing at him, and his own team stopped trying to instruct him. The kids knew AJ wasn't able to keep up. He didn't have even a basic understanding of the game. I felt a mixture of devastation and celebration. Devastation because he was so obviously at a different level of development. When AJ is excited he rubs his hands together in front of him, scrunches his shoulders up, puts his head down in front of him and hums. Writing it is not nearly as endearing as seeing AJ get excited. When we joined Indian Guides I didn't mention AJ's issues. Part of me fantasized, maybe AJ will just blend in he's progressed so much. No. Not in a sports activity he won't. I would call him over to try and explain the game, but really I wanted him to stop stimming. Three years ago AJ wouldn't go in a gym. He would cry because the noise was too loud, the building too big. Last night the boys ran in every direction yelling. The balls were being thrown and bouncing all over. AJ was in the middle of it all laughing and smiling. He couldn't understand the rules, didn't know he was on a team, and had no idea what the point of the game was, but he had fun in a gym. AJ will learn the rest. And we can celebrate those victories too.