The local fair. Home to games, rides, foods, and all sorts of craziness for you, Mom, Dad, your Aunts, Uncles, even Crazy Aunt Gretchen to relish in. But to children with autism, it can be also a classroom of its own volition. Now before you all write in, claiming “shenanigans”, just hear me out. By the end of this article, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
Every part of a fair can serve to help improve a child’s way of learning. Take the various types of foods for example. You can use some of the fairs unique delights like Deep Fried Okra and Chili-Covered Butter to expand your childs sense of taste and get them to try foods that they may be adverse to in a normal place setting. Even the promise of a Fried Twinkie or some extra game money could help to serve in your desire to get your child to enjoy more of lifes bounty. But a warning, DO NOT MIX the food with the rides without practicing first.
Speaking of the rides, the various treats the grounds offer like Skylines and Gravitrons are a great way to teach your offspring things like personal space, safety, and even things of the more advanced like centrifrugal force. One personal favorite of mine is the Super Slide. A towering device, this baby can teach about speed in the slide, fabrics in the cloths used for sliding, even the colors of the magnificent rainbow! But every ride they have bequeaths its own lessons.
Then there’s the games. Classics like the Baseball Toss and the Dart Throw all with the promise of a giant oversized banana, what’s not to like? But these games can also teach things like money management and physical education and even how to get a steady hand by throwing beanbags and rubber balls! But I do give a warning, there ARE one or two games like the Basketball Shoot that are likely to only teach lessons in futility as more often than not, they are rigged to be unwinnable. This isn’t just from my point of view but it’s been documented on several news programs.
There’s other surprises I could mention about the fair, but some of them are the kind where you have to see them to believe. But trust me, the county fair is one place HIGHLY recommended for not just having fun, but having fun in LEARNING at the same time!
Check out these other blogs by Josh:
From Josh: Alien in the Boardroom
“Trying the Turkey” by Josh
From Josh: First Day at a Blue School
Meet my brother, Josh
“Gazing at a paper sun” by Josh