#100 Days of Home Ed…Day 61

She did it! PanKwake actually climbed all the way to the top of the 30 foot climbing wall at the Leisure Centre.

Now that may not seem like such a big deal for an 11 year old…

But when that little girl has both dyspraxia and high-functioning autism…

• When it took over three months to teach her to ride a bicycle…with stabilizers/training wheels…
• When she could trip just walking…
• When she had trouble understanding first, then, and next…

Well, it was like a dream come true for this Mom to watch her ring the bell.

But what pleased me beyond all else to watch her struggle up that wall. To see her pause, hanging from the side as she stared up. I could almost see her little mind thinking ahead…planning…organizing.

Those tasks are incredibly hard for the autistic mind. Often requiring loads of work with occupational and/or speech and language therapists.

And not a skill that schools which are more worried about teaching the children the things they will need to know to pass a test…than the things they will need to know to pass the ultimate test…

LIFE!

No, schools and therapists have nothing to do with this victory.

She learned those planning and organizing skills playing video games.

Yes, for all you self-righteous, judgemental people out there…my child learned how to think…plan ahead…and organize her thoughts from…#

VIDEO GAMES!

Hours and hours and hundreds and thousands of hours of video games.

She plays them every day. I place NO LIMITS on them. And she has learned more from them than you can imagine…

• Mood modulation – When she first got started, she would have meltdowns ALL the time. Over every little thing that went wrong. Not so much anymore…those are rare. She even managed having her internet interrupted a few times during the re-wiring.
• Planning/sequencing/organizing – You know it ain’t easy building a house in Minecraft…especially when you have to gather the materials all by yourself…and fight Zombies too? Or try leading a llama from a field to the pin you built for it. You have to think those things out carefully and plan ahead.
• Math – For somethings you need a specific number of blocks…3 by 3 mostly…but we have built a mob trap once that had to be exactly 21 blocks high and in a certain pattern. She may not always want to count or add…but when it is necessary to get something built that girl does it.
• Budgeting – PanKwake may have no concept of pounds, cents, dollars or what something costs in real life…but she understands Robux…diamonds…and several other online currencies. And she is darn good at deciding…if something is worth it. One day that will translate into those pounds and pence too.
• IT and Design – Of course…don’t even need to say this one…but also…
• Socialization – Online communities are the great equalizer. Your autism…not being able to read faces, body language or emotions don’t matter. The playing field is even for those with AWE-tism. And even…
• Reading – In fact, when I had pushed books and reading so hard that PanKwake would not even tolerate being read to from a paper book, she still loved Minecraft StoryMode. And chat features have been and will probably be the biggest motivation for her to learn reading.

No, folks, my daughter is not tied to the computer. Yes, she gets out to play basketball with her home ed group. Then to climb walls with those skills she first learned online…

But I forgot the most important thing that all those games taught her…

NEVER GIVE UP!

Even if PanKwake rage quits once in while…she keeps coming back to it…until she gets it right.

She did that same thing with that climbing wall yesterday.

And I know that she will with LIFE too!

Oh…and yes, I cried when she rang that bell. It was one of those most precious moments when I just knew that this was the right course for us…and that my PanKwake was going to be a AWEsome woman one day…AWE-tism and all.