Golfing World Video of 3rd Annual Pro-Am [DFW Autism Charity]

December 6, 2017By

We wanted to share Golfing World‘s video coverage of our 3rd annual Maximum Chances Pro-Am golf tournament this past year.  We are very grateful for their help highlighting what we do here at Maximum Chances, and it was great to have the support of our fellow golfers!  We look forward to our golf tournament each year and love seeing how many people come together to support us.  To learn more about how you can get involved with our big day give us a shout.

 

 

 

 

Going to College with Autism [Colleyville Texas Autism Charity]

August 30, 2017By

Last year at Max’s 7th grade ARD meeting, (meeting where educators and parents discuss and strategically plan the education plan for the child with special needs) they asked him what he would like to do when he left high school.  He replied “well NFL, obviously.”  The special education lady looked doubtful and asked what his back up plans were should he NOT become an NFL player and he said “fine, I’ll just be an engineer.”  I found this exchange amusing and intriguing.  His back up plan was that he would like to study engineering and we’re already trying to prepare him to think about becoming part of the workforce.  At the time I thought it seemed very early to do but now I realize it’s amazingly forward thinking because trying to prepare kids on the autism spectrum for college involves a lot more than their neurotypical peers.

Check out this fantastic article we found, which is written from the perspective of 21 year old Vassar junior Zoe Gross.  She describes the transition to college is so much more complex for people with autism, the LEAST of it being, in her opinion, the social issues.  She explains that managing the independent aspects of life at college like living in a dorm/apartment, scheduling homework and assignments, making sure she eats properly, showers regularly are FAR more critical than even thinking about making friends.

People with autism often have impaired executive functioning which affects their daily life in a way their peers haven’t thought about it years.  One girl describes how she was hit by a car TWICE in college.  On one of the days she describes being completely overwhelmed with her emotions after getting into an argument, along with the noise and the crowds and she experienced tunnel vision and didn’t even see the car coming until it hit her.  This one particularly scares me as I see this happening with Max.  Just this morning I dropped him at school, not in the drop off lane for a change and watched as he crossed the road IN FRONT of a car that he simply hadn’t noticed!  I find we constantly have to go over  safety issues with him that most 10 year olds have mastered. Then I’m supposed to just send him off to college or let him get a drivers license??????  I can’t even imagine!!!

Apparently over the next 5 years, an estimated 200,000 teenagers on the autism spectrum will be aging out of the services they currently receive in the public school system.  Many of them could be seemingly high functioning but have invisible disabilities that will become highlighted when they go off to college on their own without a parent or caregiver looking out for them.  How will the college system and the newly created adults themselves cope with this huge number of people who need more consideration when trying to immerse them into their next stage of life? I have no answers at all yet sadly. It’s something I will have to think about over the next few years and try to be proactive in the mean time.

Enjoy the article and feel free to send any of your own experiences for us to learn from!

Navigating the Teen Years With Autism [Colleyville Texas Autism Charity]

February 17, 2017By

So Max will be 14 in a few months. The teenage angst has set in and he’s becoming even MORE black and white in his opinions if that’s possible.

I definitely didn’t think ahead to what puberty would look like in a high functioning child with autism. Max is my oldest so I had no frame of reference on what a typical child looks like in their teenage years. Aspergers paired with puberty looks REALLY REALLY inflexible. He has become an authority on many many things. He played football for the first time this year at school. All his spare time is now spent watching videos of past plays, researching stats of football stars and repeating them to everyone. He is pretty sure he will go on to become a professional NFL player.  You have to admire that kind of confidence.

He has struggled to complete chores such as bed making, loading the dishwasher and making sure lights are turned off. A few months ago I had called upstairs to him to ask him to make his bed. When I went to his room 20 minutes later he was sitting next to his unmade bed. When I asked why he hadn’t completed his task he said he made a judgement call that he would be getting back into it in just a few hours and there didn’t seem to be any point. He was not joking. He said that the problem with doing chores is that he doesn’t get any direct benefit from it. Most teens at this age might think that but would know better than to say it out loud. Some of this seems really funny when he says it But the reality is, he doesn’t understand emotion or the concept of doing things for others. There is no big picture in his view.

The flip side is that he never gets his feelings hurt when he is not invited parties. He never feels left out or worries about peer pressure. That in itself is such a gift. His anxiety has definitely increased however over the last year and a half, most of it comes from not if or when he has some free time and increasing demands with school work. That can stress him A LOT!

That said Greg and I realize how amazing Max’s progress is. You really never know when your non verbal child is diagnosed with autism what they will be able to do. Will they go to regular school, be mainstreamed with other kids,have a job, live at home with you forever? And remember for lots of kids on the spectrum, that reality may never come for their familiars and their lives a so difficult on a daily basis. I remind myself every day we are extremely lucky we are that Max has responded so well to the things we have done with him. There are thousands of parents out there who have done just as many therapies and treatments as we have, if not more and for whatever reason their kids have not responded to them. It can be such a frustrating journey in that regard!
If you have any stories of your autism journey and navigating the teenage years, we would love to hear them!

Happy Friday
Nicole and Greg Chalmers