What up, Clovers 🍀, welcome back to the blog. Tis I, Green Carr, objectively the funniest PA for Cool Cat C and Little P, here to update you all about a cool new Social Rec activity during which I am supporting Little P. 

A little while ago I went with Mommy Panda and Little P to an introductory Parkour class to gauge Little P’s interest in the sport. Since Little P needs to be physically active and seeks sensory input every day, Mommy Panda has arranged a sensory diet for her, 7 days a week, with the assistance of Little P’s PAs to support her 1:1 aide needs during some of them.

I drove them there so that while I found parking Mommy Panda could take Little P inside without Little P having to wait or walk too far from a street parking spot. When I finally found parking, I went into the studio that was kitted out with soft mats, plenty of things for kids to climb on, and metal bars to swing on. Apparently there was some miscommunication that happened and the head coach of the gym didn’t tell the ladies at the front desk that we had arranged for Little P to participate in a trial class. So while she sorted that out, it was my job to distract Little P with some movement breaks, big hugs, and a potty break so that she did not melt down from having to watch the other kids having fun in the class while she waited 5, 10 and almost 15 minutes!

Once everything was sorted, we joined the class which had about 5 other kids who were going through an obstacle course, so the wait wasn’t too long for Little P or me to handle. While Mommy Panda often plays up my energy and athleticism because it's easy for me to keep up with Little P, I was not athletic enough to model any of the moves we had to do for the obstacle course, because a part of parkour is landing on your hands and legs to help cushion your falls. And alas, the time for my upper body strength has long since passed me by (although I am trying to get those gains again). So, my role as Little P’s 1:1 aide was relegated to making sure Little P tackled all the obstacles in the correct order and helping her balance if she needed it. But after a while, she barely needed my help to figure out where to go or balance! She is a quick learner and memorized the steps very quickly.

Once the obstacle course section of the class was done, we moved on to the game portion of the class, when we all played 2 games. The first game was called “The Floor is Lava: Pizza Delivery,” and the kids had to pick up “Pizzas” or rubber circular dots that go on the floor, but they couldn’t step on the floor and could only go onto the raised obstacles. I led Little P to parts of the gym where the pizzas were a little more hidden and the other kids would not see and take them from her. When she grabbed a pizza she had to put it in a hula hoop with the same color as the color of the rubber circular dot. I took this opportunity to work on Little P’s problem-solving and prompted her by asking “Which color does the pizza go into?” instead of just instructing her to put the Pizza in the corresponding color. And Little P would giddily tell me the color and put it in the correct hula hoop. 

Once we finished that game, we moved on to the next one which was effectively the same concept, except if the kids held onto the pizza they had to freeze in place and give it to someone else to get it closer to the hula hoop. This game was about team work and collaboration. I knew Little P would have some trouble staying still if she had the pizza, so I kept her close to the front and had her sorting the pizzas into the correct colors.

Overall, Little P had an amazing time at the Parkour gym. I have been working with her for 3 years and I was impressed by her patience, problem-solving, and how well she followed directions. She has made so much progress since I started working with her, and with every passing week, a great part thanks to SDP Services has supported her and her family’s needs!