OK. It's Dusty Here. Anyone See This TD?

[Pete Incaviglia]

Two teams with 10 seconds to go in a blowout in Seattle area allow a kid with Down Syndrome to run 50-plus yards for a TD.



Sorry if it's a D_B. Couldn't find it through all the salty discharge in and around my eyes.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice gesture, but it's been done about a thousand times already.

Maybe I've gotten callous, I still haven't forgotten Posnanski's brilliant column about a decade ago that brought tears to my eyes when I read it.

 

[bydesign77]

At the end of the clip, there's a ref holding a flag as he runs off the field. I hope he wasn't planning on throwing it for anything on that play. I hope he was just pulling it out in the process of hurrying up to get out of there. Because that is something he should be ashamed of if he was going to (/crossthread)

 

[Gator]

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice gesture, but it's been done about a thousand times already.

Maybe I've gotten callous, I still haven't forgotten Posnanski's brilliant column about a decade ago that brought tears to my eyes when I read it.

As far as I'm concerned, it never gets old. Don't know the kid, don't know the team or the opponent, but I can't even imagine how that made him feel. Watch him coming off the field taking his helmet off. Stuff like this does, in fact, make you want to be a better person.

 

[Birdscribe]

At the end of the clip, there's a ref holding a flag as he runs off the field. I hope he wasn't planning on throwing it for anything on that play. I hope he was just pulling it out in the process of hurrying up to get out of there. Because that is something he should be ashamed of if he was going to (/crossthread)

The only compelling reason for that referee to have that flag in his hand during that play was to wipe any moisture from his eyes.

Our soccer region has this program called "VIP." What it is, is a team of developmentally disabled kids (Down's Syndrome, Asperger's, autism, etc) who play teams from our region each week. One of my wife's co-workers is one of the coordinators of the program and as a favor to her -- and to give my girls some perspective -- we played them last week.

"Playing them," basically means milling around playing the pretense of defense as they score on us repeatedly. Then, the referee basically tells us when it's our turn to score -- usually after the VIPs have rang up 3-4 goals.

Folks, my girls had the time of their lives. My daughter comes walking off the field after one quarter saying "They're so CUTE!!!!! I want to take one home with me." Another girl started talking to one during the game, trying to engage in conversation. It worked in kibbles and bits; he was too busy trying to score on us.

Their goal celebrations were better than any goal celebration I've ever seen, better than anything the Premier League, La Liga or the World Cup could throw out: bear hugs, group hugs and a dogpile when one boy with Down's Syndrome scored his first goal of the season.

My girls couldn't have shown more class if I told them to. They just took to these kids like helpful sisters. They started high-fiving the boys after each goal, clapping after this one boy with severe autism dribbled further than he had during any game and cheering after "getting beat."

One of the boys, who had Asperger's, wasn't a bad little player. He dribbled really well, had some nice crossovers and rolled the ball on both feet until either shooting or passing. I went over afterward and shook his hand, telling him how much I enjoyed watching him play and how good a player he is. His father looked at me like I just awarded his son a Nobel Prize.

Never mind the 6-1 beating we delivered our opponent in our "real game." This made my day.

Excuse me. Getting a bit dusty right now.

 

[playthrough]

On a similar note, Paul Daugherty of the Cincy Enquirer hit this BLOG! entry out of the park on his daughter, Jillian:

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/daugherty/2010/10/15/the-magnificent-line-1015/

He has written about her often over the years and it's just fabulous. I have a developmentally disabled brother and there are so many parallels between him and Jillian.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Aspergers is nothing like the other issues mentioned. My cousin has it and went to Stanford on a swimming scholarship.

He won't look you in the eye and cannot censor himself at all. He says exactly what he's thinking, no matter how ****ed up it is. It's almost like Tourette's without the outbursts. I've seen him reduce family members to tears at events. I just stay away from the guy. Amazingly, he's married with two semi-normal kids and he has a great job.

 

[SoCalDude]

Saw a video clip the other day, kid in a wheelchair rolling through the line and down the field into the end zone as the defense opens a path. They don't tear me up anymore, but they are cool and uplifting.
You know, this is their time. Just because somebody did it 10 years ago doesn't matter to these kids.
Just like the college-bound athletes sitting at a table in front of several hats. It's their time.

 

[Stoney]

I liked the "poor tackling" comment at the end.

 

[YGBFKM]

Aspergers is nothing like the other issues mentioned. My cousin has it and went to Stanford on a swimming scholarship.

He won't look you in the eye and cannot censor himself at all. He says exactly what he's thinking, no matter how ****ed up it is. It's almost like Tourette's without the outbursts. I've seen him reduce family members to tears at events. I just stay away from the guy. Amazingly, he's married with two semi-normal kids and he has a great job.

So he doesn't work in newspapers?

 

[93Devil]

I was thinking that he posts here.

Bird, it sounds like you girl thought she was playing puppies and not people. It is a fine line of making some of these disabled people feel better, but for many of them, especially as Mizzou metioned with Aspergers, their goal in life should be just as high as anyone else's.

 

[D-3 Fan]

That was classy. In a cool, nice way. :)

 

[Smash Williams]

I was thinking that he posts here.

Bird, it sounds like you girl thought she was playing puppies and not people. It is a fine line of making some of these disabled people feel better, but for many of them, especially as Mizzou metioned with Aspergers, their goal in life should be just as high as anyone else's.

But a kid isn't going to understand that. Most kids aren't going to be exposed to kids with severe development disabilities in the course of their daily lives, and particularly in sports. Coming away with any sort of positive impression and being exposed to the fact that there are people like that out there who enjoy these sports just as much as you is a great lesson to learn. The "teachable moment" of if cute is an appropriate term isn't really for that time, at least IMO.

And I would assume the kids with high-functioning Aspergers (which technically isn't a diagnosis anymore, IIRC - it went away with the DSM V and is now considered a variation of autism rather than a specific syndrome) aren't the target for a team like that. You'd get people with much more severe Aspergers into the deeply autistic kids, kids who need a lot of positive-only reinforcement of any social setting. Kids with mild Aspergers, who tend to be fairly book-smart because of their memories, would likely be less comfortable and gravitate more towards being the odd kid on teams of regular kids.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Aspergers is nothing like the other issues mentioned. My cousin has it and went to Stanford on a swimming scholarship.

He won't look you in the eye and cannot censor himself at all. He says exactly what he's thinking, no matter how ****ed up it is. It's almost like Tourette's without the outbursts. I've seen him reduce family members to tears at events. I just stay away from the guy. Amazingly, he's married with two semi-normal kids and he has a great job.

So he doesn't work in newspapers?

Wow, it'd be interesting to see him try to interview someone.

 

[YGBFKM]

Aspergers is nothing like the other issues mentioned. My cousin has it and went to Stanford on a swimming scholarship.

He won't look you in the eye and cannot censor himself at all. He says exactly what he's thinking, no matter how ****ed up it is. It's almost like Tourette's without the outbursts. I've seen him reduce family members to tears at events. I just stay away from the guy. Amazingly, he's married with two semi-normal kids and he has a great job.

I think Asperger's runs in my family.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

My son has Asperger's, and believe me, it's a challenge.

Transitioning from one event to another is one of the biggest issues. He'll be fixated on one thing, and if we have to do something else, he'll fight us tooth and nail. Other times, he'll be hypersensitive to something that most of us would just brush off and lose his temper and slug the other kid.

He also has one of those portable video games, and he'll bring it with him everywheres as kindof a security blanket. People will try to get him involved in things, and he'll be content just playing his game and will fight you like crazy if you make him participate. Heck, I've taken him to sporting events, and he'll watch a bit, then play his game for an hour. He's gotten better at watching and cheering, though.

He also has plenty of issues in large-group settings. It's taken him years to be able to play on a playground full of kids without getting angry and slugging someone. One on one with an adult or a kid (usually), he's the best kid around. He's met adults, and had very articulate conversations with them that leave them stunned that he can almost talk at their level.

He's in a special school right now that the wife and I had to spend thousands in a lawyer to get him into because our idiotic school district kept treating him like a regular kid, then getting upset when he was acting out and were ignoring us when we told them that he didn't fit into their precise package of a child. That special school has done wonders for him (and for our stress levels). He's learned that if he's feeling overwhelmed, to tell people that he's upset, rather than just belting them one, and to leave the situation for a quieter place.

He's also much better with his friends. Before, kids wouldn't want to play with him because he would be too rough. Now he's learned to care about other kids' feelings.

 

[93Devil]

Understanding unstated rules and processing fair versus unfair are what stand out to me as the biggest obstacles in their life. When I was in the classroom, I taught a few students with Asperger's, and that is what I took from the experience.

Baron, I'm guessing you child's IQ is probably over 100. Most school districts will have the Asperger's mainstreamed and shadowed by a para-educator. You did a good job winning that case, but with the right teachers, the mainstreamed model can work.

Smash, public schools today have all students coming into contact with each other.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

My cousin is six years older than me and watching him as a kid was beyond crazy. His teachers hated him. My uncle told one story about high school teachers getting into a fistfight over which teacher had to take him. And this is a kid, who never received anything other than a A all the way through four years of Stanford and graduate school at Cal Tech.

Even when he's medicated, he would just say the meanest things you can imagine.

You want to feel bad for him, but you can't.

He's basically a shut-in. He works from home as an engineer and makes an incredible living. His wife is a law professor whose social skills are only slightly better than his.

His kids are remarkably semi-normal, thanks largely to my uncle who basically raises both of them.

 

[Journo13]

I can't even imagine raising a kid with a mental illness. It takes quite a person to be able to patiently handle a kid's disabilities and still be patient and loving. I give anyone who is able to raise a kid with Asperger's deserves a lot of credit.

Anyway, going back to the kid who scored the touchdown, I'll agree with those who say it has become much more routine. However, it hasn't lost any significance over the years.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Understanding unstated rules and processing fair versus unfair are what stand out to me as the biggest obstacles in their life. When I was in the classroom, I taught a few students with Asperger's, and that is what I took from the experience.

Baron, I'm guessing you child's IQ is probably over 100. Most school districts will have the Asperger's mainstreamed and shadowed by a para-educator. You did a good job winning that case, but with the right teachers, the mainstreamed model can work.

Smash, public schools today have all students coming into contact with each other.

His IQ has been measured at something like 120. So we know he's smart and there's plenty of subjects he'll expound upon that makes us, and any adults he meets, stunned.

And with our regular school, we had begged for months for a 1-on-1 helper. The school kept refusing, then finally gave him an assistant who also had another student. Then we agreed at his IEP meeting to have the assistant work with him in the afternoons, when he was more problematic. Only, the school went back on their word (one of numerous times), then couldn't fathom why there were more issues.

The district also was majorly slow to react to any issue or problem that arose. Our son would do something, the principal would call all upset, and we'd be like, "Well, here are some ideas ..." and they'd say "We have to have a meeting about it ... 3 weeks from now." A lot of good it would do our son.

Our lawyer said that our case was the first time in her 20 years as a practicing education attorney she ever wished she hadn't settled and had taken them to trial, because we would have destroyed the district for their stupidity and incompetence.

You are right, though, Devil, on understanding rules and fair/unfair is a major part. He has issues understanding that what's fair and right in one circumstance is unfair and wrong in another. And that's something we've been working on.