ABC & Me....

(ABC of NC is a center for children with autism.)


When I first began working at ABC a few years ago, I was impressed and amazed with the ability of each teacher to play so wholeheartedly with their students. There was no self-consciousness, just intensely focused devotion to engaging their child. If that meant emulating a 3 year old or a 7 year old, then that's what happened. Hopping, jumping, splashing, sliding, racing, giggling, rolling games and laughing fun-filled messes extraordinaire were everyday events.

I've always been a bit reserved and actually used to be very shy. But shyness and ABC simply can't coexist. I've rolled down grassy hills with a 3 year old, zoomed around the building playing super hero games with a 7 year old, decorated my feet with shaving cream & paint with a 2 year old, ran loud giggling races down the hallway with the same 2 year old, been submerged in the ballpit, raced on scooters, jumped on the trampoline, danced on the crayon balance beam, sang every childhood song known to man, learned new songs about having a "party in my tummy" and the yumminess of "fruit salad", played in the mud, made oobleck, bubbling volcanoes and ooey-gooey paper-maché.

When I'm with one of my students, the rest of the world pretty much ceases to exist, because they are my focus and they are my joy. To say that I love my job, doesn't even begin to come close to expressing the way I feel.

Recently, on a trip back to Illinois to visit my mother-in-law who is a patient in ICU, I was able to spend time with my 3 & 7 year old nephews. They were very well behaved and were doing such a great job of being quiet and sitting down in the ICU waiting room. After about an hour of watching them do their very best to "be good", I couldn't take it anymore. I persuaded them to join me in playing lily-pad jumping games across the floor tiles, followed by zooming races across the hall (where we wouldn't disturb anyone). Races turned into super hero leaps and special cool jumps. Then we went on a quest around the hospital, watching the people from up so high walk around like ants on the ground, mountain climbing up 7 flights of stairs, pretending to swim in the fountain and giggling over how the elevator made our tummy's feel "tickly".

By the time we were done, they were ready for a snack and quiet time and my tension level had dropped down tremendously.

Kids and playing - it's an addiction. :)