Spectrum Basketball @ St Albans (12)

It's coaches on the spectrum - showing players on the spectrum - how to navigate a world where nothing in it is making sense. And we have fun playing basketball.

• 5 to 6pm.  Loreto College, St Albans, Hatfield Road, St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3RQ 
• There is a big "ish" with age. If it works for the player it works for us. 
• Our Games Coaches all belong to their governing body called GamesCoaching.ORG The easiest way to pay us using the app which you can get by going to  your phone's app store, search for wix.com app called Spaces. Download.  And then enter this code QTKFDS 
• Don't  let a lack of money stop you from coming. We ask for £7.50 but you are welcome to pay what you want.  

Thank you to Gilberts !!!!!

I would like to say thank you to Gilberts - a firm of Chartered Accountants that are based a few doors away from Loreto College for sponsoring Spectrum basketball. They are covering the cost of hiring the court for a whole term.

Thank you.

Big hug.

https://gilberts.uk.com/

How we show the autistic a better way to navigate our world when nothing in it is making sense.

Let's  start with my friend learning to drive. They were going along fine  until an impatient driver came up behind - hurry up. To the left another  car is coming at them - again hurry up! On the left-hand side, there  were children playing football. On the right-hand side, smaller children  learning to ride bikes. Parents and pedestrians are everywhere. Then a  big tree in the way, and a bend in the road that they could not see  around. My friend's car - slowly came to a stop. They had frozen. ​The  driving instructor calmly said - stop focusing on the things around you -  and move through the space between things. To this day - many years  later - my friend still remembers that lesson - not how to drive a car  but when nothing makes sense - move through the space between things.  My  friend understood the technical rules of the road. He also understood  the mechanical skills to control the car. What he didn’t understand was  how all the things around him - were going to move. This lack of  understanding meant he did nothing. The driving instructor could not  shrink the world by making everyone go home. So he offered a 3rd skill.  The Spatial Awareness and Timing to move through the space between  things - generating options as they go. By looking at the space between  things - my friend was able to avoid feeling overwhelmed by there being  too many moving things around them.  We  do the same as my friends driving instructor. We offer the 3rd skill.  To heighten spatial awareness and timing through play. It keeps our  brains fresh and open to different options when current ones are being  blocked. It provides another way to improve at sports by giving players  more space and time - to better execute their current skills. And a way  for the autistic to navigate the world.  ​ I  have spent the last 15 years doing amazing things - tall ship sailing,  basketball, game design, pop-up restaurant, etc, with many autistic  children, autistic teenagers, and autistic adults. To emphasize a point  of difference, I have created a fictional character called Peter. And  turned up this difference. No autistic person is this one-dimensional.  Peter sees one tree, then the next tree, and the next - never seeing  that the trees make up a forest. He doesn’t process the idea of their  being a bigger picture. He sees only a ball and not the space around it -  so is surprised when the ball moves. Navigating his life is like trying  to complete a jigsaw without even knowing the pieces assemble into a  picture. This results in Peter getting overwhelmed when he has only a  few moving things around him. It seems sensible to help Peter process  more than one thing at a time. We found another way. We helped Peter  feel space. By looking for space Peter rewires his brain to see space  between things. Peter learns to time how he moves through the space  between things - generating options as he goes. Peter learns to navigate  his world without needing to piece things together in a jigsaw of  understanding. It is a joyous process to be involved with. We all feel  space when we feel the energy of having a group hug and take three steps  back. The drop in energy is space. Space is the absence of things. The  absence of energy. We all can navigate our world when nothing in it is  making sense.

What players and parents think 

We went to the most amazing basketball session in  Hemel at Longdean school. My son is autistic and has ADHD he struggles  to follow instruction and is extremely demand avoidant. This session  took all the barriers away for my son and he had the most amazing time,  his words “I loved it”. Well worth checking out

A young player - "I like Jon’s sessions because instead of telling us what to do we all just work it out ourselves"  

A parent - "It’s refreshing to see someone run a sports session with a focus on kindness and flexibility instead of adherence to set patterns based on traditional ways of learning. We have always been made to feel welcome and encouraged to participate and my children gain confidence by being part of something that requires teamwork. As an observer, I enjoy seeing the players thinking about not just themselves but the whole team. It’s not about just playing ball, it’s about creative thinking, consideration of others and teamwork"  

Any questions contact the help centre