The great outdoors — inspired by Charlie
Posted on January 5th, 2010 by Patricia
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!
March 5th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
[...] promised in my blog post earlier this week, I am blogging today to share some information about an organization that has gone out of its way [...]
April 7th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
[...] not the only one pining for summer — a comment to Patricia Wright’s post about nature touted a surf therapy program for children with autism. As it turns out, Patricia Wright lived in [...]
January 10th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Margaret and Ecki, thanks so much for your comments. The great outdoors and the activities it offers clearly have a lot to offer.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
My daughter’s private special education (autism/multiple disabilities) school (K – 12) has an entire nature based curriculum. It’s worked wonders for her.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Great topic for discussion and suggestions. I have written a blog post about autism and hiking at http://yourtherapysource.blogspot.com/2009/09/go-hiking.html. It is a great activity for any child or adult.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Tam – Surfers healing is great. Thanks for providing the link. Surfing is an amazing experience, for those with autism, for anyone who is fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the experience. I had had the pleasure of living in Hawaii for several years. Was able to particicpate in Surfers Healing events there. Unfortunately my current homeland of Chicago doesn’t see much surf.
January 5th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
I read your blog post about autism and the great outdoors… I follow these people on twitter and thought of them when i saw your entry: http://www.surfershealing.org/