Last weekend I was talking to my partners Dad, Terry, about Sports day. He told me about how a few weeks ago he went to watch one of his sons, Lance, competing in his school sports day…
Shortly after he arrived, he saw Lance at the starting line for one of the races… It was a straight sprint…
He’s only 7, so it wasn’t a 100m sprint… It must have been about 70 metres at most….
Anyway…
Just before the race began…. He started to cry!
He just stood there, looking at the finishing line with tears running down his face…
Why did he cry?
Because he was scared.
Scared of losing…
Scared of tripping falling….
Scared of all the people looking at him…
Scared of competing…
Scared of failing!
Terry went on to explain that Lance being scared really didn’t bother him… We all get scared.
It didn’t even bother him that he was crying…. Nothing wrong with showing your emotions either…
What bothered him about the whole experience, is that because Lance was scared, when the teacher started the race…
He didn’t push himself…
And he’s right, I’ve seen Lance sprint when he’s playing football in the park… And he’s fast…
He’s comfortably faster than most his class mates that’s for sure… He could have won the race without breaking a sweat….
But because he let his fear control his actions… He didn’t even try to win and came a respectable third…
For Terry, this is a big concern… Not that he came third, that doesn’t really matter….
But that Lance didn’t push himself… He let himself down…
Not a big deal at sports day… But there’s a likelihood that if they don’t work on this, he’ll let his fear control other areas of his life too…
It could stop him getting the job he wants, the friends he wants, the house he wants… Everything….
And I could totally get this because it’s a mistake I’ve made myself in the past…
I see parents and carers with autistic children make it too…
Not challenging their child because they’re scared they could fail and they’ll stand out in front of their friends and other parents….
There’s nothing wrong with being scared… As irrational as it is, it’s an emotion that’s extremely difficult, if not impossible to control….
But you can control your actions… And acting in spite of fear how parents and carers get real positive results with their children.
While you’re here…
If you want more advice and guidance on getting the very best from your autistic child, get your copy of my new book “A Guide To Unlimited Autism Success” …
Speak with you soon, until then
Live every moment, Love beyond words and make a difference today…
Emma Ottaway
The Ambitious Autism Ambassador
