Last night was the final game on Curt's basketball schedule. He spent much of the game as he had most games, half into it, half not, sometimes playing defense, sometimes screaming 'sittin on the toilet', and running around the gym talking to people he knows while he was supposed to be playing. A typical Curits effort this year, his first attempt at sticking out an organized sport.

He didn't touch the ball a whole lot during the year. Partly for lack of interest and part because his group of second graders rarely passed the ball. His team was more entertaining chaos than basketball squad but they had fun and we had fun watching them. They did just fine and got noticeably better as the season went on.

FIlling in as coach, I was hoping to get Curtis an opportunity to score a basket. In the 3rd quarter, as the team crossed center court (his team tends to move as a pack), I asked one of the kids to pass to Curtis. Curt took off towards the wrong hoop and I yelled his name. He turned and looked at me and I said "this way Curt, come here and shoot"! He dribbled down the right side, stopped, and threw in a perfect granny shot bank swish to much applause, slapping my hand as he made his way back down the court. To be honest, he wasn't particularly proud or impressed with himself, but his team of mom, dad, Jamie, and Caron, who made it to his games to cheer him on were happy to see the little man score the hoop, as were his teachers, friends, and other staff and parents. His  mom and dad were most proud that he made it through the season. He made every game, almost every practice, and has a season of basketball under his belt to build on as a reference going forward.

So, I'm posting this Jason McElwain stuff again. I don't see how this is not THE greatest sports story ever. Jeremy Lin? Great story, but he had an economics degree from Harvard to fall back on. A teenager with autism who was happy just to be associated with his basketball team, well-liked by everyone, going lights out from the perimeter with a fearlessness reminiscent of Kobe Bryant?  As a huge sports fan, I see great sports stories all the time, but Jason takes the take.

Way to go Curtis. Your sports junkie dad is hoping for more post-basket high fives in years to come, but will be happy as long as your happy.

Greg, Dad

When Laura suggested Curtis play second grade basketball I thought the idea was a little crazy. Basketball in the second grade is hard enough for a typically developing child but I thought it was too soon to expect a kid with ASD to grasp the speed and complexity of the game. Passing, shooting, dribbling, all the back and forth mixed with high energy, yelling, clapping, etc. Seemed like it would be too overwhelming to Curtis. While the team sport ride has had its up and downs so far and the game moves fast enough to make Curt's head spin, he is doing just fine and having fun, as evidenced by the video above when he spotted me with a camera lat his game last week and decided to start performing yet another rendition of an unfortunate song that went viral on youtube a couple years ago.

Greg, Dad

I only throw autism in the title so often for search engine optimization purposes. They essentially make you do it in order to be found on Google. Anyway, after two additional basketball practices, things are going much better for Curtis.
In his second week, he anticipated that the team was going to huddle up after warm-ups and was able to transition into the group. He participated in a lay-up line and worked on dribbling skills with only occasional frustrations. He was distracted but participating. We'll take that.
In week 3, he was even more comfortable and willing to participate in drills and exercises. He isn't crazy about actual games situations just yet. The flow of the game, who he is supposed to guard, the fact that you can only shoot on one of the hoops, etc. are all concepts that escape him right now, but he's far from the only second grader in that boat.
In hindsight, I realize it would have been good to have a conversation with the coach before that first practice. I'm sure he had at least a rough idea of the sequence the practice would follow and me and his mom could have prepped Curtis better for the practice. For all he knew, basketball practice was going to be like when him and dad play. Especially since I actually call what we do basketball practice.
In hindsight, Curtis was surprised when he had to go from shooting warm-ups to sitting in a circle. He wasn't ready for that and wasn't able to recover from it that first week. But I'm happy to see and report that he's doing a lot better since and we're seeing an obvious building block to doing similar activities like this with his friends in the future. Also in hindsight, his mom had a great idea getting him into this now. I didn't think he was ready but if everything with autism is about hitting it early, then why should this be any different? Can't wait to laugh once these games get going. We'll see how well this defense tactic (pictured below) works out once there is a tip-off .


Greg, Dad

I was recently reminded of one of my favorite autism success stories involving a basketball team manager turned three point machine. Jason McElwain made national headlines in 2006 after his basketball debut during his senior year of high school."J-Mac", who has high-functioning autism, had a passion for basketball but hadn't even worn a uniform until the teams last game of his senior year. His coach intended to give him the experience of wearing a jersey and sitting on the bench with his friends and teammates before the season wrapped for the year. What happened next is still hard to believe. In J-Mac's word, he got "hotter than a pistol".

Greg, Dad