I don't know about the rest of the autism parents out there, but whenever I'm in public and my son's diagnosis comes up I'm frequently asked some version of the "what is his thing" question. Um...his thing? Oh, you know, does he count cards, know what day of the week any date was, play Mozart by ear? His special skill?
It is a very common layperson's perspective that autistic people have a special skill, known as Savant Syndrome. In actuality, only 1-10% of the autistic population also have Savant Syndrome. My son is not one of them. In fact, in most academic areas he falls about 2 years behind his peers. And he has no musical ability that we've seen. In fact, he didn't even start singing until just this past year. He has exactly 3 songs in his repertoire: Happy Birthday, Old McDonald, and Baba Black Sheep. So no, we've seen no sign of Savant Syndrome.
I bring this up because the other day I heard the very best question about this subject. Bambam participates in an adaptive sports program called STAR Sports. I've written about the program several times. It is wonderful. It was developed by a college student (we'll call her A) and is run completely by A and a group of volunteer students. They are amazing. And Bambam loves it.
Bambam is extremely athletic, which is sort of amazing considering he didn't walk until he was almost 2. But now, at the age of 7, that child is really an amazing athlete. Any sport with a ball is second nature to him. I've actually seen him kick a football through a basketball hoop. More than once. On purpose. He can beat anyone at a game of horse on the basketball court. His first time on the golf course, at the age of 6, he drove the ball to the green on his first par 3 shot. Seriously, people stop to watch. So its no surprise that he sort of shines at STAR sports, which is focusing on soccer right now.
At the first fall session, A's parents had come from out of town to see the program she had developed. They sat next to me and they were so proud, as they should be. A is a wonderful, caring young lady. She is going to take the world by storm. I had a great conversation with her parents. And as I was talking to them, this took place:
A's parents: Is that your son out there in the green shirt?
Me: Yes, that's Bambam.
A's parents: How old is he?
Me: He's 7.
A's parents: Wow, he's big. I thought he was 10. And he's so athletic. His eye/hand coordination is incredible. Do you mind if I ask what his diagnosis is?
Me: Oh, no. He's autistic. And yes, he is big. And athletic.
A's parents: Is that his special skill, athletics?
And that's when I couldn't help laughing out loud. But I decided that I was going to just go with it. Why yes, his Savant Skill is athleticism. We've finally found it.
I love it. From now on when I get the "what's his thing" question, I'm going to answer athletics. Just go with it people.
