Billy

Above is the before we met Billy.........
and below is the after.    Here is the story of a man, a plan, and my Sam.

Last year I found out that there was a guy at our community rec center who was not afraid to tackle an autism work out.  No, not the kind of workout moms are use to.  The kind that involve wrestling the kid to the ground so we can do outlandish things like, brush his teeth, give him medicine, or put on his socks.  I'm talking about something REALLY outrageous.  This guy was willing to get a kid with autism to work out.

People with disabilities are more likely to be overweight because there are fewer opportunities for them to participate in physical activity in the community.  For some individuals, like Sam, there is motor planning dis-coordination so severe, that even basic activities can become a challenge. He has difficulty crossing mid-line (the invisible line cuts you into left and right) and the sagital line (the one that cuts you top and bottom.)  He also has difficulty maintaining balance on a single foot or bending over.  As if that weren't enough, he has very tight achilles tendons coupled with low muscle tone.  A jumping jack is not a pretty thing.

The doctor who has followed Sam for over 10 years says that autism is a disability of motivation.  In other words, they are lazy little boogers.  Everything Sam has learned, he has learned through earning rewards.  Some kids are motivated by stickers, some by pieces of fuzz.  Sam is motivated by food.  This was the challenge Billy faced when he met us last spring.  When Sam started, he was mad if he had to run one lap, which is only the equivalent of 1/10 of a mile.  But between Billy's determination and my promise of a diet Coke from McDonald's, a workout program was born!!!  Sam actually started to look forward to what became known as "Billy Days." 

In the early fall, Billy moved to the other side of the state.  We were very sad to see him go.  By watching him and asking questions, I was able to learn more about how to work with Sam.  More than anything, Billy gave me the confidence to at least try.  We don't do the weight training, but we have kept up with the running.  Monday was a HUGE break through.  My little lump of a couch potato came up to me and said, "Can I have run 10 laps please?"

There are moments in this journey that stick out as major turning points.  Monday was one of those moments.  Thank you Billy for being a game changer!