Can an autistic child learn to downhill ski?
This year we have had a hard time of it. My husband had to resign from his place of employment, I was laid off. We have been kicked in the teeth so many times that we're gumming our food. It's a long story and one that I am not going to get into here.
It's been a rough ride. We needed to do something good for our family and, because Chuck and I were so depressed, we wanted to have something active to do this winter. We have been dealing with a counselor and made a plan for getting through the winter without becoming worse, especially since I get seasonal affective disorder (SAD) really badly in the winter.
We decided early in the fall that we were going to buy a ski pass for the entire family - about $1300 for everyone. Chuck loves to ski, so does Jon, and I thought it would be a good idea -- what do they say to do when you're depressed? Exercise. We used money from a windfall that we might have been better saving, but we considered it "mental health" money.
We bought used ski equipment for everyone (about $1,000 for skies, boots, bindings, poles and helmets). So the question was: Rachel, Charlie and I were complete beginners, how would the season go? And I was pretty scared of skiing. I have longstanding back injuries and although I am healthier than I have ever been, I am afraid of falling.
Skiing was easy for Rachel. She's a natural just like her dad and Jon. Soon she and Jon were skiing down the bunny hill as if they had been born to do it. Jon had been skiing for three years, so he was basically able to go anywhere except for diamond trails.
Charlie and I were a different story. I am afraid of heights and Charlie was just afraid. He fell a couple of times, but gradually got the idea of how to ski down from the bottom of the bunny hill to the flat portion below. We had a harness for him at first, and then he was able to ski without it. But each time he went down, either he or his dad or I would have to carry his skis back up the hill for him. He would not ride the lift at all.
The Poma lift:
The poma lift allows the skier to get on, ride up the bunny hill without their feet leaving the ground, and then get off whenever they want and ski down the hill. There's just one catch: You have to get on, put the pom between your legs, keep them together, and then when getting off - push the pom out from between your legs, turn left and get off of the path of the poma lift.
That requires some coordination. It was scary at first for me, especially the idea of getting off and clearing the path of the poma. And not skiing back down the hill backwards.
Once I got to a level of comfort with the poma lift, we tried to get Charlie on it. We crashed and burned. The first time he fell and the pom hit him in the back. The second time he fell again.
We kept him off of it and let him tube down the tubing hill for two weeks. But that's not covered on our pass and that was getting expensive.
Chuck and I tried one more time to get him on the lift. Chuck was going to have Charlie stand in front of him and have Chuck hold the pom in his hand and have it pull him up the path. Well, that didn't work and this time they both fell, with Chuck on top of Charlie.
I took Charlie to the bottom of the bunny hill, had him stand there and I put both of my ski poles together and had Charlie grab them with his thighs just like he would grab the pom, I dragged him up the hill in my regular boots and then told him "LET GO!" and he let go and skied down.
I trudged after him, put my poles out again and he went up the "Mom-Pom." Man. I was beat after a couple of times. Charlie wanted to do it again, but I was exhausted.
We met a lady who runs the kitchen at the resort, she was putting ice melter on the path to the lodge. I told her about what was going on and she told me about a fellow named Tim, who is an instructor and works with kids with difficulties. We set up a lesson with him for the next day, but neither Chuck nor I, were thinking that this was going to work. Tim said that in the meantime, we should take off Charlie's skis and let him walk up beside the poma lift, with us carrying his skis, and he should then ski down and repeat it. This, he said, would desensitize Charlie to the poma lift. He would see it and hear it, but not be frightened by it.
We did that a couple of times and it was fine, but I was exhausted and really ready to snap.
Fast forward to a huge fight between Chuck and I in the car...bad times ... and then came the day of the lesson.
We got our gear in the car and got to the mountain and it was just perfect conditions. Lots of fluffy snow. No ice on the hills at all. Tim McBride was the instructor, a 64 year old man with a great sense of humor. He asked Charlie if he was ready, Charlie said, "I am ready. I am NOT riding the Poma lift."
Tim had Charlie walk with his skis to a spot about 20 feet away and showed Charlie how to position his skies by kicking them into place and had Charlie ski right over to the poma lift.
I stood there wondering if I should follow along, but decided to stay back by the lodge so that Charlie would not look to me for help. Apparently Tim had set this up with the attendant at the Pom and they stopped the lift, let Charlie get on, kept the lift off while Tim showed him how to hold on and how to stand and how to hold his poles in his left hand. Then they started up the lift, Tim ran beside him and about ten feet up Cody, the lift operator, killed the poma lift and Tim helped Charlie off and told Charlie, "Ski! Go have fun!" and Charlie skied down the hill back to the poma lift.
There was a man and his son standing near by and I pointed out Charlie and talked with him about Charlie for a bit and he and I watched as Charlie skied down the bunny hill together and we all cheered for Charlie and he lifted up his ski poles into the air like a champion!
I was crying by that time and the fellow near me said, "He's having a good day and it looks like you are, too." I said, "You know, there's only one thing that Charlie can't do." He asked what that was and I was barely able to get it out because I was crying, "The only thing he can't do is the thing that we don't let him try."
Tim went back down and they did it over and over and over. They monopolized the lift for the better part of an hour.
Right after Charlie had gone up for the first time, I went back to the car and got my skies and by the time I was in my boots and gear, Charlie was riding the pom without them stopping it for him. He was getting on with Cody's help while it was running and he was getting off where Tim was waiting at the top of the hill. It was so incredible!
I skied over (now remember, I am a complete beginner) and congratulated Charlie and let him go on with his lesson while I rode the poma lift up. I got off, was scared, as usual, but made it down the hill. Charlie told me, "Make more turns, Mom!" Apparently Tim had told him that making more turns slows you down as you go down the mountain.
I thanked Charlie, then went back up the mountain on the pom and this time went much higher, about twice as high as I have ever had the guts to go, and skied down, making lots of turns. It was better.
Now as I sit here, having written all of this, I am going to go get off the computer and get the kids and Chuck ready because it's snowed again and I want to go skiing this morning. After all, we have a season's pass.
It's been a rough ride. We needed to do something good for our family and, because Chuck and I were so depressed, we wanted to have something active to do this winter. We have been dealing with a counselor and made a plan for getting through the winter without becoming worse, especially since I get seasonal affective disorder (SAD) really badly in the winter.
We decided early in the fall that we were going to buy a ski pass for the entire family - about $1300 for everyone. Chuck loves to ski, so does Jon, and I thought it would be a good idea -- what do they say to do when you're depressed? Exercise. We used money from a windfall that we might have been better saving, but we considered it "mental health" money.
We bought used ski equipment for everyone (about $1,000 for skies, boots, bindings, poles and helmets). So the question was: Rachel, Charlie and I were complete beginners, how would the season go? And I was pretty scared of skiing. I have longstanding back injuries and although I am healthier than I have ever been, I am afraid of falling.
Skiing was easy for Rachel. She's a natural just like her dad and Jon. Soon she and Jon were skiing down the bunny hill as if they had been born to do it. Jon had been skiing for three years, so he was basically able to go anywhere except for diamond trails.
Charlie and I were a different story. I am afraid of heights and Charlie was just afraid. He fell a couple of times, but gradually got the idea of how to ski down from the bottom of the bunny hill to the flat portion below. We had a harness for him at first, and then he was able to ski without it. But each time he went down, either he or his dad or I would have to carry his skis back up the hill for him. He would not ride the lift at all.
The Poma lift:
The poma lift allows the skier to get on, ride up the bunny hill without their feet leaving the ground, and then get off whenever they want and ski down the hill. There's just one catch: You have to get on, put the pom between your legs, keep them together, and then when getting off - push the pom out from between your legs, turn left and get off of the path of the poma lift.
That requires some coordination. It was scary at first for me, especially the idea of getting off and clearing the path of the poma. And not skiing back down the hill backwards.
Once I got to a level of comfort with the poma lift, we tried to get Charlie on it. We crashed and burned. The first time he fell and the pom hit him in the back. The second time he fell again.
We kept him off of it and let him tube down the tubing hill for two weeks. But that's not covered on our pass and that was getting expensive.
Chuck and I tried one more time to get him on the lift. Chuck was going to have Charlie stand in front of him and have Chuck hold the pom in his hand and have it pull him up the path. Well, that didn't work and this time they both fell, with Chuck on top of Charlie.
I took Charlie to the bottom of the bunny hill, had him stand there and I put both of my ski poles together and had Charlie grab them with his thighs just like he would grab the pom, I dragged him up the hill in my regular boots and then told him "LET GO!" and he let go and skied down.
I trudged after him, put my poles out again and he went up the "Mom-Pom." Man. I was beat after a couple of times. Charlie wanted to do it again, but I was exhausted.
We met a lady who runs the kitchen at the resort, she was putting ice melter on the path to the lodge. I told her about what was going on and she told me about a fellow named Tim, who is an instructor and works with kids with difficulties. We set up a lesson with him for the next day, but neither Chuck nor I, were thinking that this was going to work. Tim said that in the meantime, we should take off Charlie's skis and let him walk up beside the poma lift, with us carrying his skis, and he should then ski down and repeat it. This, he said, would desensitize Charlie to the poma lift. He would see it and hear it, but not be frightened by it.
We did that a couple of times and it was fine, but I was exhausted and really ready to snap.
Fast forward to a huge fight between Chuck and I in the car...bad times ... and then came the day of the lesson.
We got our gear in the car and got to the mountain and it was just perfect conditions. Lots of fluffy snow. No ice on the hills at all. Tim McBride was the instructor, a 64 year old man with a great sense of humor. He asked Charlie if he was ready, Charlie said, "I am ready. I am NOT riding the Poma lift."
Tim had Charlie walk with his skis to a spot about 20 feet away and showed Charlie how to position his skies by kicking them into place and had Charlie ski right over to the poma lift.
I stood there wondering if I should follow along, but decided to stay back by the lodge so that Charlie would not look to me for help. Apparently Tim had set this up with the attendant at the Pom and they stopped the lift, let Charlie get on, kept the lift off while Tim showed him how to hold on and how to stand and how to hold his poles in his left hand. Then they started up the lift, Tim ran beside him and about ten feet up Cody, the lift operator, killed the poma lift and Tim helped Charlie off and told Charlie, "Ski! Go have fun!" and Charlie skied down the hill back to the poma lift.
There was a man and his son standing near by and I pointed out Charlie and talked with him about Charlie for a bit and he and I watched as Charlie skied down the bunny hill together and we all cheered for Charlie and he lifted up his ski poles into the air like a champion!
I was crying by that time and the fellow near me said, "He's having a good day and it looks like you are, too." I said, "You know, there's only one thing that Charlie can't do." He asked what that was and I was barely able to get it out because I was crying, "The only thing he can't do is the thing that we don't let him try."
Tim went back down and they did it over and over and over. They monopolized the lift for the better part of an hour.
Right after Charlie had gone up for the first time, I went back to the car and got my skies and by the time I was in my boots and gear, Charlie was riding the pom without them stopping it for him. He was getting on with Cody's help while it was running and he was getting off where Tim was waiting at the top of the hill. It was so incredible!
I skied over (now remember, I am a complete beginner) and congratulated Charlie and let him go on with his lesson while I rode the poma lift up. I got off, was scared, as usual, but made it down the hill. Charlie told me, "Make more turns, Mom!" Apparently Tim had told him that making more turns slows you down as you go down the mountain.
I thanked Charlie, then went back up the mountain on the pom and this time went much higher, about twice as high as I have ever had the guts to go, and skied down, making lots of turns. It was better.
Now as I sit here, having written all of this, I am going to go get off the computer and get the kids and Chuck ready because it's snowed again and I want to go skiing this morning. After all, we have a season's pass.
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