Shule's first Youth Party

Wednesday night there was a tri-stake youth Halloween party for ages 12-18. That's a pretty big age span there. I was surprised at how nervous I felt about him going- I didn't really start to feel it until he left and then the entire two and a half hours he was gone I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was SO excited to go. Which was really fun but maybe that's why I started to get nervous- I was afraid he would be disappointed. I think most mothers worry about the bad things that might possibly happen to their child in most situations but I worry so much more for my kid with Asperger's- especially when its a social kind of thing.

His youth leader, Adam Eslinger, has been absolutely AMAZING in working with the other boys to help Shule feel like a part of the group. He arranged for all of the boys to meet at the church and then carpool together to the other building the party was at so that no one would have to go alone. Jon said that when he dropped Shule off, Shule immediately walked over to the group of boys who were also dressed in costume and said "Is that you Weston? I could hardly recognize you!" This seems like such an extremely common kind of statement but for our Shule who rarely if EVER even acknowledges when someone says "hello" to him at school and typically lowers his gaze or completely looks the other way- to immediately initiate a conversation is HUGE!! And SO encouraging! It makes me get teary just thinking about it.

Needless to say, he had a great time! He especially enjoyed the bobbing for apples. Although, he did manage to lose the white gloves at the party. Not too big a deal but he felt really bad about it because I had expressly warned him not to lose them and he even found a pocket inside his hat he said he would put them in if he took them off. Oh well. I'm glad he had a good time but I was so glad to have him back home. This teenager thing is going to be even harder than I thought!

Shule was so excited about being the Mad Hatter- he really enjoyed getting into character and letting his silly side show. Perhaps being in character helped him feel more comfortable interacting with others.