We took the boys to Karate on Tuesday. They both had a great time, but again Jackson was being Jackson.
The class for Jackson's age was first and when we got there they were playing freeze with the instructor as cardiovascular exercise and warm up. Jackson played right along with the running around and tagging each other, but he could not grasp the concept of standing still when the person who is "it" tags you. When he was tagged he would continue to run and touch people on his own. The instructor did explain the freeze part to him several times, but I don't think he saw a purpose to it and therefore would not do it.
The were also doing exercises like races where one kid would run to the opposite end of the room, while jumping obstacles and kicking a punching bag then run back and tag their partner who would then do it. He also failed to understand this one, he did not want to wait and could not get the kicking down right. I know it was his first time in this setting and with some of these activities, but again I know Jackson and by watching his face and actions you can see what he is grasping and what he is not.
It was difficult for the other kids to cope with, one boy was very vocal about Jackson "cheating"during the games and when Jackson was on his team he made it clear that he did not want him on his team and he wanted to change partners. This was very hard for me to watch, Jackson did not understand it or did not care, I am not sure which. I did not like seeing this kid be that way about him, but I know this is something I am going to have to learn to deal with on some level because he is always going to be different.
The instructor was good with him, he stayed patient and would hold on to Jackson and try to get him to watch the other kids do something before letting him try. He also tried staying on top of the behavior of the other kids and kept telling them it was Jackson's first time, he would learn and they need to be nicer.
Jackson had a good time and really enjoyed playing around the other kids, I can't say with because while he did interact with them, he did not really play WITH them.
We are going to keep him in the karate because he does enjoy it and hopefully it will pull him socially out of his shell a little more.