Helping children with autism learn social skills is fun for everybody involved.
I just wrote an column on Examiner.com about how people often react to what I do for a living with a strange mixture of pity and admiration. They patronize me by telling me what I do is great, but they don’t understand that it’s more than that — it’s simply a lot of fun.
I work with kids with autism, to improve their skills in academics, social skills, and sports. As I point out in the article, it’s not without challenges. I’ve been hit, scratched, and had my shirt grabbed so hard it tore in half. But the great moments outweigh all that, and I’ve got enough memories to last a lifetime, and at least enough for a book.
The main point of the article is that it’s a lot more than rewarding to work with these kids. It’s a huge amount of fun and I look forward to every session.
How could you not like teaching kids how to read, do math, make friends, play sports, and have fun? How could you not love jumping on the trampoline, taking them swimming, or taking them sledding? How could you not like running a play date for kids whose social skills don’t come naturally?
If I seem a little bitter in the article, it’s because there are a lot of women out there who seem to value someone who works in a boring but successful career over someone who would be a great father (not to mention a great husband). But not everyone has their values upside down.
In “Authentic Happiness,” Martin Seligman writes that when we do things that are both kind and fun, when actions are meaningful, those acts result in true happiness.
Tags: authentic happiness, autism, children, fun, job, rewarding, social skills, sports
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