Proud of My Teen
This past week the boys and I went to Royal Ambassadors (RA) Camp. Ashton served as a Counselor in Training (CIT) for the first time. This was a big step for him (and us). For those who do not know, both of our boys have Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism) and ADHD.
The RA director for our church spoke with me prior to the camp and made arrangements to have him stay in the cabin with me even though the CITs usually sleep in a separate cabin from the rest of the campers. My main concern, since Ashton cannot take his meds on his own, was that he would have to wait until breakfast to get his meds several hours after he was supposed to be up doing his work. We actually ended up with three CITs from our church who slept in the regular cabins in order to help the counselors as needed.
Ashton's main job was to help with archery. He helped set-up the targets, brought out the bows and arrows, handed out arrows to archers, gave instructions (bows up, fire at will, bows down, retrieve arrows, etc.) and helped clean up after each session. He was also expected to help with various activities such as water tubing, crafts, games, as well as cleaning the cabin each morning.
One of the things that made me the proudest was watching him cleaning a bathroom. Why? Because he did it without complaining when it was not even supposed to be his responsibility. I walked into one of the bathrooms and noticed that somebody missed the toilet and simply threw some paper towels over it. I went to two of the older CITs and asked one of them to clean the bathroom. They made faces and started pointing at each other saying, "You do it." I told them that if they could not decide who should do it that the camp director could choose which one.
A few minutes later I noticed Ashton coming into the building when he was supposed to be helping at archery. I asked what he was up to and he told me that he was told by one of the CITs that he had to clean a bathroom. He went in and cleaned it and then went back to the archery field without any complaints. I told Ashton, in front of the other two CITs, that I was very proud of him for being such a big man.
This was really big for an autistic child who has numerous issues with odors and touching anything dirty. Watch the YouTube video of this year's camp or check out some photos on Flickr.
The RA director for our church spoke with me prior to the camp and made arrangements to have him stay in the cabin with me even though the CITs usually sleep in a separate cabin from the rest of the campers. My main concern, since Ashton cannot take his meds on his own, was that he would have to wait until breakfast to get his meds several hours after he was supposed to be up doing his work. We actually ended up with three CITs from our church who slept in the regular cabins in order to help the counselors as needed.
Ashton's main job was to help with archery. He helped set-up the targets, brought out the bows and arrows, handed out arrows to archers, gave instructions (bows up, fire at will, bows down, retrieve arrows, etc.) and helped clean up after each session. He was also expected to help with various activities such as water tubing, crafts, games, as well as cleaning the cabin each morning.
One of the things that made me the proudest was watching him cleaning a bathroom. Why? Because he did it without complaining when it was not even supposed to be his responsibility. I walked into one of the bathrooms and noticed that somebody missed the toilet and simply threw some paper towels over it. I went to two of the older CITs and asked one of them to clean the bathroom. They made faces and started pointing at each other saying, "You do it." I told them that if they could not decide who should do it that the camp director could choose which one.
A few minutes later I noticed Ashton coming into the building when he was supposed to be helping at archery. I asked what he was up to and he told me that he was told by one of the CITs that he had to clean a bathroom. He went in and cleaned it and then went back to the archery field without any complaints. I told Ashton, in front of the other two CITs, that I was very proud of him for being such a big man.
This was really big for an autistic child who has numerous issues with odors and touching anything dirty. Watch the YouTube video of this year's camp or check out some photos on Flickr.
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