Our Little Skater

Our middle child, Graham, has autism and a chromosomal abnormality called isodicentric 15. Because of this, he has global developmental delays; as a baby, he was late reaching all of his gross and fine motor delays. He didn't sit up until he was about 11 months old, didn't roll over until about the same time, and didn't take his first steps until 19 months. Part of his condition also involves something called "low muscle tone," which basically means that his muscles are loose and sometimes floppy. So, while he is able to walk and even to run, he tends to be on the clumsy side, and finds himself tripping and falling more often than other kids his age.

I tell you this in an effort to explain why I was not exactly jumping for joy when I heard that Graham's class in school would be ice skating for P.E. for the 9-week winter term. His class had been going to a little gym close to the school that he just loved going to, and I was really concerned, for the reasons cited above, that the ice skating would be a complete disaster for Graham.

Nevertheless, we decided to try. I went with him each week, and I have to tell you that the progress he made during those 9 weeks (he only went 6 or 7 weeks due to some other conflicts we had) was truly remarkable. In just a few short weeks, he went from not being able to hold himself up at all on the ice to being able to easily skate indepently (albeit slowly!) for 25 to 30 feet before falling (actually, he typically would just drop himself to the ice, in anticipation of falling). He absolutely loved it too, which means that Graham now officially has three recreational activities at which he excels and which he loves : swimming, horseback riding and ice skating. Who woulda thunk it!?! It just goes to show that you never really know in life, do you? Something I thought would be impossible for Graham has turned out to be something that he will be able to enjoy for the rest of his life. Thank you, Chartwell International, for expanding Graham's horizons, and for giving him the gift of skating!

oopsie

Hanging on for dear life

With sweet Mikayla