The great outdoors — inspired by Charlie

A blogger I follow (and really like) is Kristina Chew. Dr. Chew is a Classics professor and the mother of a 12-year-old with autism. She blogged at My Son Has Autism/Autismland from 2006 to 2008, at Autismvox from 2006 to 2008, at Change.org from 2008 to 2009, and now she’s at We Go With Him.

And so, okay, she’s moved around a lot the past few years, but trust me, she’s worth keeping up with! Her willingness to provide a glimpse into her family is very generous, and her posts are typically insightful, sometimes heart breaking and always well written.

Dr. Chew frequently shares that her son Charlie has a great appreciation for the outdoors. For example, here’s a bit from a post she wrote for Change.org:

I like the idea of Charlie working on a farm. He likes being outdoors and the kind of work one does when gardening strikes me as combining many of the things he’s drawn to do.

And here’s one from a post she wrote for We Go With Him:

The ocean is the great equalizer for Charlie — he’s a 12-year-old boy first and foremost, diagnosed and diagnosis-less, straining for his independence and annoyed to no end to hear his parents placing limits and saying “be safe.”

Charlie is taller (far taller) than most of the children on the beach. When I see them, I can’t help thinking of my boy when he was all skinny limbs and clamored for us (both of us — this was when he was 6 and under) to carry him. Charlie was fascinated, absorbed, obsessed with the waves and quite reluctant to venture into them without Jim and me supporting him. Then we thought it’d be enough if Charlie could learn to hold onto his board and stay atop it. We knew we’d feel beyond joyous if could learn to swim so he could jump and splash in the waves like the other laughing kids around us.

Charlie did learn to swim, and that post features a photo of Charlie out in the waves while his mom and dad watch from the shore.

Outdoor activities can include kayaking, bike riding and the beach, to mention just a few. From my days as a classroom teacher, I remember well many students who really appreciated their time outside of the classroom. Kristina Chew’s posts about Charlie’s love of nature have inspired me to do some research on organizations who have gone out of their way to meet the unique needs of individuals with autism — even in the great outdoors.

Look for my next post to find out about a forestry organization that has partnered with the Autism Society of North Carolina to increase the accessibility of their programs. Stay tuned!


 

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