Last week Max's preschool class went to Farm Country. A field trip with 12 preschool kids on the spectrum is like herding cats (cats with serious sensitivities to light, sound, and crowds that can easily overstimulate them and make them behave unpredictably.) So it's pretty important to have at least 147 parent volunteers on hand. I was there. It was fun.
Max was very much excited to go to Farm Country. In school they had been learning all about farm animals for weeks. At least, I assume so; Max came home singing E-I-E-I-O every day. He doesn't have a lot of vocabulary to work with, so when new words show up it's easy to notice.
We went to Farm Country as a family about a year ago, before Max was attending Giant Steps (his special needs ASD preschool.) A year ago, Max wandered around Farm Country, not engaging with his environment, constantly trying to run away, and hardly even noticing the animals. He could have been in a dirt field, full of weeds and his reaction would have been about the same.
But this time he couldn't wait to see everything and to name it as loudly and energetically as he could. The first animal he saw was a huge, black horse. This particular horse is right up front and has a sign that says "Please pet me." Max's saw him and ran right to him. "It's a horse!" he said. "It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse It's a horse!"
And Max actually reached out to pet the friendly animal. I was so proud of him. Honestly I got a bit misty.
Progress is progress no matter how small.
-Will (the dad)
Max was very much excited to go to Farm Country. In school they had been learning all about farm animals for weeks. At least, I assume so; Max came home singing E-I-E-I-O every day. He doesn't have a lot of vocabulary to work with, so when new words show up it's easy to notice.
We went to Farm Country as a family about a year ago, before Max was attending Giant Steps (his special needs ASD preschool.) A year ago, Max wandered around Farm Country, not engaging with his environment, constantly trying to run away, and hardly even noticing the animals. He could have been in a dirt field, full of weeds and his reaction would have been about the same.
But this time he couldn't wait to see everything and to name it as loudly and energetically as he could. The first animal he saw was a huge, black horse. This particular horse is right up front and has a sign that says "Please pet me." Max's saw him and ran right to him. "It's a horse!" he said. "It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse! It's a horse It's a horse!"
Progress is progress no matter how small.
-Will (the dad)
I love this post. I'd always heard that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man (child). I guess it's true.
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