Circle
of Friends: "Monumental!"
|
On December 4th there will be a
training about Circle of Friends across from the Parent to Parent
office at VTC, organized by Autism Support Daily. My son Joshua, who is
12 and has autism is starting his second year with a Circle of Friends,
so I wanted to write a little about our experience.
Josh is not the kind of guy that initially kids
would gravitate towards
and want to hang out with or want to include in activities. Not because
typical kids are being judgmental or discriminating, they just don’t
know how to interact with him. Fortunately last year Josh began working
with a special educator who supports Circle of Friends. The following
are some anecdotes that illustrate some benefits Circle of Friends has
provided him:
When Josh walks down the hall, classmates say “hi” to him, even when he
doesn’t look at them or respond (and sometimes now, he does).
When Josh walks in his classroom in the morning, his Circle friends run
up to him. The boys have taught Josh different “cool” handshakes called
“knuckles,” “trekkie” and “wicked,” with which they greet him. At
recess, his Circle friends seek him out. Last week the Circle boys
independently organized a game of football at recess to teach Josh how
to play.
One day, one of the Circle boys happened to be riding his bike past my
house and stopped when he saw Josh in the yard. Josh was somewhat
agitated because the boy was out of context at our house, and Josh kept
repeating “no, no” until the boy left.
The next day at school the boy brought it up with the adults at school,
and wanted help in facilitating a visit. At the boys’ Circle meeting
they argued about who would get to visit Josh at home first.
Once when Josh and I were in the grocery store, a boy ran up to Josh to
say hi, and even though Josh looked the other way, the boy still smiled
and greeted him. I asked the boy if he knew Josh from school and he
responded proudly, “I’m in his Circle!” Later in the grocery store when
I was trying to negotiate checking out, Josh was spinning in the aisle
and the Circle friend came up and started spinning next to Josh. One
kid spinning in a supermarket is an oddity, two kids spinning and it is
two kids having fun.
One day at school Josh was having a melt down in the cafeteria. One of
his Circle friends walked up to the adult who was with Josh and told
her that Josh was probably upset because he didn’t understand something
and that she should try to use visual aides.
While these anecdotes may not seem like much to some people, for me
they are monumental. Josh has had minimal interactions with his peers
most of his life. He certainly hasn’t had “friends.” I have found that
typical children want to interact with Josh, they just need a bridge to
help them do so. Circle of Friends is that bridge.
Last night when Josh was taking his bath, I heard something I rarely
hear, Josh talking. I peeked into the bathroom and saw him in the
reflection of the mirror. He was practicing different hand movements
and repeating out loud, “knuckles, trekkie, wicked.”
Please come on December 4th and learn more about Circle of Friends. ©
Thanks,
Hilary
7-9pm; on December 4, 2006
Vermont Technical College, Williston Campus Blair
Park, 201 Lawrence Place, Room 215. RSVP to Lynn.
Our next issue will include more about
Circle of
Friends. We would love to hear your stories about Friendship &
Belonging.
Please contact Hilary via email
or 1-800-800-4005 x19.
Fall 2006 - In this Issue:
100th Supporting
Parent Training
From Our Director
Circle Of Friends
Family Voices &
Advocacy
Thanks
Updates
Annual
Appeal
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