On the Road with Autism

I took an incredibly inspiring, one-day clinic at ASF all about autism. I learned about Temple Grandin www.grandin.com, a woman with autism who earned a Ph. D. and designs cattle facilities! With understanding and supportive family and friends she has been able to harness her ability to think and perceive differently to become a leading world expert at designing humane slaughter facilities for animals. Also she has been able to give us more insight into what it feels like to be autistic. We watched a hilarious video at www.ontheroadwithautism.com about two families that packed their autistic kids in a Humvee and go on the road. Normally it is hard to take autistic kids out to do fun things in the world because other people will judge them and the parents for any unusual behavior. But they just decided to do it anyway! Very inspiring. On the side of the Humvee they painted, “Fight Autism, not War!” I think you can get T-shirts with the slogan also. It mostly shows their trip to learn to ski at an adaptive sports center in California. Watch the video to get a taste of life here at ASF.

We also went out on snow and role-played working with autistic kids. I was partnered with Larry, a parent of an autistic racer at ASF, and he helped me to understand the kinds of games he uses to keep his son focused while riding the chairlift and how to break up instructions into bite size pieces. I learned “First-Then” techniques with rewards. When he role-played the student and I had to be the teacher, he made the whole experience seem so realistic.

ASF: Greatest Place on Earth

I am very excited about this winter in Windham with the Adaptive Sports Program. It is my second winter as a volunteer. Since I competed on the US Paralympic ski team in 1984, I get to help with the race team. It brings back so many memories of my own training and all of the people who helped me to reach for my dreams.

When I went to the volunteer orientation back in November, it felt great to be welcomed back for another year with familiar faces, hear all the latest news, get more helpful tips and gear up for the new season. ASF gives you lots of support and education as a volunteer. Basically I feel like a part of one big family in our snug little lodge with the warm fireplace apart from the big, public lodge down the hill. ASF is a place where everyone is accepted and valued for what they can do, not what they can’t do. I LOVE being able to look around and see people in wheelchairs, people with cognitive disabilities and people missing arms and legs sitting on sofas, walking across the room to get their equipment or lift tickets, and mingling with volunteers, staff, families, and friends. No one is staring or shocked by anything we do. Everyone is helpful, kind and loving. Sound like heaven? It is!

I have a confession: I don’t really think the disabled people are the oddest people at ASF. Lots of the people who come to help (including me) are real characters. Lots of personality! Also big differences of rich and not rich, black and white, East and West, city and rural, Democrat and Republican. So it isn’t just our disabilities that need acceptance and kindness—we need it for our eccentricities, our differences, and our uniqueness. At ASF I always feel like I have landed in a little utopia—full of people getting along and caring about one another the way it should be everywhere.