Question from a reader

Brayden received a question from one of his readers.

Brayden, I remember when you were a bit younger and your mom registered you for a group with our Therapeutic Recreation programme on a P.D. Day.  It was in a room with lots of equipment and you ran around the room for parts of it.  I think sometimes when that happens, people think you may not want to do the activities, or that you maybe just need an activity break?

I guess I have two questions.

If you do remember that day, do you think disinterest in the activities was part of it?

If you did actually want to participate, but had a hard time controlling your body, how could we have helped you to focus, or calm down or ……

Thanks in advance!! C

DEAR C
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY DAY TO READ MY BLOG AND RESPOND WITH SOME QUESTIONS.  I LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY READERS.  UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T RECALL THAT PD DAY AT K.A.  I HAVE BLOCKED A LOT OF THOSE EARLY ABA DAYS OUT AS IT WAS A VERY DEPRESSING TIME IN MY LIFE.  I WILL TRY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.
NO I DON'T REMEMBER THAT DAY.  WHEN THIS HAPPENS I HAVE A HARD TIME CONTROLLING MY BODY.  IT FEELS LIKE YOUR SPINNING AND CAN'T STOP.  YOU WANT TO STOP BUT YOU CAN'T.  IT IS SUCH AN AWFUL FEELING TO NOT BE ABLE TO STOP.  THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER REASON WHY I GET UP, THE ACTIVITY IS TOO SIMPLE AND DEGRADING TO MY INTELLIGENCE.  IMAGINE SOMEONE GIVES YOU BABY WORK WHEN YOU ARE AN ADULT.  THEN THEY START TALKING TO YOU LIKE YOU ARE A BABY AND THINKS THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ENGLISH.  BUT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON BUT YOUR MOUTH DOESN'T LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN AND ALL THESE WEIRD SOUNDS COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH INSTEAD.  YOUR LIKE WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ME.  WHY CAN'T I TALK WITH MY MOUTH WITH THE WORDS THAT ARE IN MY HEAD?  IT IS SO FRUSTRATING.
DO YOUR BEST TO DO INTERESTING ACTIVITIES ON INTERESTING TOPICS.  WE KNOW OUR NUMBERS AND LETTERS, LETS MOVE PAST THE BABY WORK.  WHY MUST WE SHOW OUR TEACHERS EVERY LITTLE THING WITH ABA DRILLS?  IT IS ANNOYING AND NOT NECESSARY.  HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOW A SKILL THREE TIMES RIGHT IN A ROW IN ORDER TO MOVE ONTO THE NEXT SKILL?  WHAT IF YOUR BODY WASN'T WORKING THAT DAY AND YOU COULDN'T SHOW YOUR SKILL?  SO YOU ARE STUCK ON THAT SAME SKILL FOR A LONG TIME, THEN YOU GIVE UP BECAUSE YOU ARE FRUSTRATED AND BORED.
ABA IS INSULTING TO OUR INTELLIGENCE.
WHY CAN'T WE ASSUME COMPETENCE AND TEACH WITHOUT TESTING EVERY LITTLE THING?  THAT WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY TO KNOW THAT EVERY AUTISTIC WOULD HAVE A EDUCATION, TO LEARN RPM AND BE HAPPY.
SINCERELY
BRAYDEN