Stats and Bats and Nerves

Here is another reader question:  Hi!  My name is Marcus B. and I found the blog through David L. on Facebook (I believe one of Ryan’s uncles?), with whom I played little league baseball and we later went to college together.  My question for Ryan/Family:  Do you enjoy watching or playing in any sports (especially baseball)?  I really enjoy the statistics and score keeping in baseball and I have a cousin who is autistic and enjoys it.  Obviously the sport isn’t for everyone but I’m curious Ryan’s take on this.

YES TO LIKING SPORTS.  YES TO MANY DIFFERENT SPORTS.  MAYBE I WOULD LEARN TO KEEP SCORE SOMEDAY.  YES TO LIKING TO LEARN THAT.  WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO LEARN TO KEEP SCORE IN BASEBALL?  I asked Ryan, “Are you asking me?”  YES.

I explained to Ryan that when I was younger that I was obsessed with the New York Mets.  This is completely true.  From about 9 years old until I was 12, I was obsessed.  I planned my day around Mets’ games.  I watched Baseball Tonight if I missed the game.  I woke up each morning and stole the sports section out of the Sun Sentinel newspaper to review statistics about the Mets and other National League teams.  I had memorized who was leading in batting average, home runs, RBIs, ERAs, saves, etc.  I knew the player and the team and the subsequent number of what the average or total number was.  I even knew the fluctuations on a daily basis.  I explained to Ryan that I would call my Grandpa George almost daily to discuss our “Mets Update” which was a big deal because he lived in New York and I lived in Florida and back then we had land lines and long distance charges, not cell phones.  NOT SURE THAT I KNEW THAT.  PART OF ME ALWAYS KNEW THAT YOU LIKED SPORTS.  LIKE THAT ABOUT YOU.  Which part–the sports part or the stats?  YES TO THE STATS.  ALWAYS LEARNING SOMETHING NEW ABOUT YOU.  We then talked about other things that he might not have known about me like my college major of criminal justice and that I wanted to be in the FBI like his Grandpa Bob and how that did not pan out but that I embarked on another career in human resources outsourcing.  I spoke to him for a while about this and he listened.  I would like to think that he realized that I was not always only a mom, but that I have other interests outside of my children, RPM, and autism…

So add that to the list of lessons that I need to create–one on baseball scorekeeping.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about this?  I am all ears as I mainly was into memorizing the player stats and never really hand wrote any type of scorekeeping for baseball and I believe that there are several different schools of thought on this.

Speaking of schools, yesterday we did a lesson on Leonardo Da Vinci.  As I began the lesson, about 2 questions in, Ryan began slapping his head and crying.  I asked him what was going on.  VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THE IEP MEETING.  We were scheduled to have our transfer IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting in the afternoon (they call it an ARD meeting in Texas) and Ryan was going to spell a bit for them at the beginning of the meeting.  I asked him what he was nervous about.  MAKING A MISTAKE.  I explained to him that it is okay to make mistakes and this was not his battle and that he is entitled to FAPE (and reminded him that it stands for a Free and Appropriate Public Education) and that he could be the stupidest kid on the planet and he would still be guaranteed FAPE. This is his right.  He spelled FAILING TO DO SO (meaning his previous experience in school).  FLEEING IS MY STIM WHEN I AM PETRIFIED.  LATELY IT KEEPS ME FROM EACH DAY DOING MY BEST.  I told him that this would be helpful for the IEP team to know and could I share this?  YES.  I assured him that it was Randy and my responsibility to ensure that he was treated like a human being that and that the school staff realizes that he understands everything and needs to be spoken to like any other third grade student.  MAYBE CALMING ME DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

Well, Ryan rocked it at the meeting.  I will write more about that later this week.  At this point, I asked him if he wanted to keep going with the lesson or try again later.  YES TO KEEP GOING WITH THE LESSON.  So we did.  Near the end of the lesson, we spoke about the Mona Lisa.  I read to him the text from the book that I was using that suggested “her strange smile fascinates people as it is difficult to pin down.”  I asked him if he could caption the Mona Lisa or if he had any ideas on what she might be thinking.  I THINK THAT SHE IS LAUGHING AT ALL THE PEOPLE MAKING A BIG DEAL OUT OF HER.