Aug 2, 20192 min read

Take Me and My Letterboard Out to the Ballgame

Trevor has been working hard to develop more fluency with multiple communication partners and to take more risks. Trying new things has been high on his agenda, and this summer he got to experience his first major league baseball game. Check out his story below!

In the Nats stadium, Trevor communicates with his dad using his letterboard.

Going to a baseball game is a quintessential boyhood experience. The magic of a ballpark. The laughter of kids. The crack of a bat hitting a ball. Oh and the endless food options. To heck with the peanuts and Cracker Jack. Did you know that you can buy literally anything at Nats park? Burger? Yep. Tacos? Yah. Sushi? Probably. The possibilities are endless. Going to a game can make you broke and fat. Man, I could live in that ballpark. Going to my first game at age seventeen far out shone my expectations. With new things my family is taking a colossal risk. Will I enjoy it or will my autism cancel out any enjoyment with stims and anxiety? It's a gamble. Lots of times the autism wins. Not this time. This time I win. I am sold on starting to be a baseball fan. I never thought I would care about a team sport but then again I never thought I'd be writing a blog either.

RPM has opened doors for me that seemed permanently closed. Today I can email my teachers. I can joke with my family. I can even tell my mom when the know-it-all doctor is wrong and needs direct instruction in how to talk to an autistic kid without sounding like a condescending ass.

When mom told me we were going to a baseball game, all I could think about was how happy I am to be able to explain the experience. Whether I loved it or hated it, I can better and more explicitly use the opinions I have always had.

Now that's a real homerun.