Come on Ireland! You win some, you loose some...
St Patrick's day fell this past week dear reader and I hail originally from the Emerald Isle. So please allow me to share a little tale with you about when we went to see the Irish rugby team play Canada in the last world cup, with LS in our midst.
Now I debated for a while whether LS and his autism would thank us for bringing him into a rather full Millenium Stadium last September. What would he make of 60,000 plus individuals (lots dressed as leprechauns and the like) shouting and jumping up and down at 30 men chasing an egg-shaped ball on a field? What is that all about? Society talks about 'autistic behaviour'; would you mind defining the afore-mentioned behaviour please, to LS and his comrades with autism?? How must the rest of us present to our friends in the autism community at such times?
Anyway, for better for worse, off set the five of us to the rugby. In we pack with the thousands of others into the stadium. LS follows in our wake looking rather bemused with it all. I say repeatedly; "we are going to see Ireland playing football". He's looking around I figure for the ferry from Holyhead that usually takes us across the Irish sea to see 'Ireland'. This is a particularly hard scenario to explain to an ultra-literal autistic mind, I ponder. Never mind, LS seems happy enough to take it all in...
Ireland play great; there's lots of tries to be scored on the try-line we are sitting behind. So consequently lots of standing up and shouting of "come on Ireland!" and the like. I keep checking on LS. He's the only one in the crowd lounging in his seat playing with his fidget toy, appearing to be really engrossed in his own world. He's just not getting what this is all about I think, a little sadly, if I'm honest. The rest of us are having such fun right now and I so want him to be joining in that fun too..
Then Ireland come running down the wing again towards our end; the roaring escalates again and out of LS's mouth I hear (in a very gentle voice), "come on Ireland!". Wow, I think and I venture further with LS; "what colour are Ireland wearing?" To which he replies "red". You win some, you loose some, dear reader. However overall I felt we won that day; what a great score from LS!..
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