Day 5

Never one to conform to the crowd, Josiah prefers to seek solitude among the masses. With hundreds of special education students, teachers and aides, in addition to hundreds of typically developing high school students enjoying a fun filled field day in the park, Josiah preferred to play with some beads.

Yesterday was the annual APE (Adapted Physical Education Day) Field Day. High School students volunteer their time and talent to create interactive games and entertaining activities for Special Education students throughout the entire school district to enjoy. It all takes place at a huge county park with music, dancing, snow cones, bounce houses, dunk tanks and even a fun run.  Most of the participants wear matching t-shirts, provided free of charge to the students and teachers. It’s heartwarming to watch high school students pair up with their disabled peers, showing such kindness and compassion.  Everyone has a great time.

Josiah didn’t want to be there. He tried to escape a couple of times.  When I blocked him from running off, he plopped down on the ground and refused to move.  His classmates were waiting in line to jump in a bounce house.  Not this bouncy boy.  No jumping for him. At one point there were 4 adults, including me, surrounding Josiah, attempting to entice him with a treat to get up.  He wouldn’t budge.

Eventually, I was left alone with half a pack of smarties, a non compliant child and no clue how to get my boy to move.  Knowing it was going to be a very long day unless I came up with a plan, I simply walked away.

It worked!  Though it appeared Josiah wasn’t watching, he popped right up the instant I walked off.  He followed my every step.  As long as I stayed a few feet in front of him, pretending not to notice, he stayed with me.  He still had no interest in being there, but at least he was up off the ground.  I noticed if Josiah got close enough to grab my arm, he’d slip his arm through mine and attempt to drag me off.  I’m not quite sure where, though I’m pretty certain had he succeeded it would have been to the parking lot, halfway across the field, in search of a school bus or our van. I never let him get that far.  Each time Josiah grabbed my arm, I gently slipped away, taking the lead a few feet in front of him.

So, we walked.  We lapped that park a few times, never stopping to enjoy the activities. Everywhere around us, kids were having fun. The only part of the day Josiah seemed to enjoy was his lunch.  He gobbled down his food with lightening speed.

Ultimately, one of his teachers coerced Josiah away.  She helped him squirt some water from a water shooter, knocking over a plastic figurine perched atop a plastic cup. Josiah was not amused.  He barely paid attention. He preferred to momentarily swish the water from the refill water bucket instead. For his efforts, he received a shiny purple string of Mardi Gras beads and that changed everything.

Suddenly Josiah was having the time of his life.