Autism Awareness Club Chaos-An AutismTriathlon

Hey guys. It's been a long time since I have written one of these. Better start making a habit out of it again.

Last Winter, I started the Autism Awareness Club on campus and the first semester was a huge success. We did volunteer work, had an Information Night, Movie Night, participated in the Walk for Autism, and Team Autism won the Utica College Intramural Whiffleball League Championship. We did pretty good last year.

The question was, would we be able to top it? Well, let's just say Autism Awareness On Campus Round 2 got off to a chaotic start.

September 16th 2009 was the day we were going to have our first meeting of the year. The night before, I had a strange dream. The dream consisted of me working outdoors with the Hockey team as we were preparing for the start of the season. The workout ended so late that our meeting was in a couple of minutes after it concluded. I sprinted to Hubbard Hall 211 after the workout was done and tried to run the meeting. I was at the podium wearing a t-shirt, my baseball hat, and completely covered in dirt. (I always like to wear dress clothes with a tie and shoes when I run a meeting.) I felt awkward with no confidence. When I woke up, that morning, I was relieved it was just a dream. At that moment, I was worried. Was the dream trying to symbolize or foreshadow the future?

That morning, I showered and put my dress clothes on. I didn't have to worry about dryland training with the Hockey team that day because Wednesdays were our day off. I was ready for the meeting later that day at 5pm but by the time I was ready, morning classes haven't even begun. I was confident!

But....

We had a Society for Collegiate Journalist Meeting at 4:30 pm, a 1/2 hour before our meeting was going to begin. The meeting ended at 5:02 pm. The secretary of our club, who's also a member of the Society for Collegiate Journalist, and I ran upstairs to the room of our meeting. A couple of minutes late to my own meeting!

We entered the room....and no one was there. Nobody came. We advertised like crazy but no one came. After waiting for about ten minutes, I allowed our Secretary to leave. I sat there in the room for awhile. I was stunned, I couldn't believe it.

Shortly after I left, I received a call from my Math Tutor. I completely forgot about our tutoring session that was suppose to take place earlier in the day. I was shocked. It's not like me to forget about appointments. I can usually remember it all in my head.

The day didn't get much better later on. I was working for the Athletic Center by distributing Code of Conduct cards to fans for the Woman's Soccer game. Halfway through, I had to abandon my shift to go to the portables due to a bathroom emergency. I actually went right before my shift so that was just bad luck.

It was just a horrible day all around.

I was talking to my mom about it, and she suggested that instead of having meetings once a week, have it once a month to prevent people from over-stressing about it. I concurred and consulted my e-board members. They all supported the idea. We agreed to have our meetings the first Monday of every month, and e-board meetings the LAST Monday of every month.

Our next meeting was then scheduled for Monday, October 5th. I decided that maybe a change of scenery would do us good. Instead of having the meetings in Hubbard 211, we decided to have it in the Boelhert Hall Conference Center. We booked it for 9pm.

I discovered that a Sorority on campus was holding a rush at 10pm that night. Due to that occurrence, I understood that we had to make sure we jetted out of there by ten to ten.

I decided to do some intense recruiting. I e-mailed professors from departments containing Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Psych-Child Life, and Education majors. I asked if they would mention the Club Meetings to their classes.

One Professor wrote back from the Psych-Child Life department. She requested that I speak to her Psych-Child Life class, next semester about Autism. I didn't hesitate to accept the proposal. We met in her office. She was able to recognize me walking by because of the Autistic Sports Nerds' column in the Tangerine. Speaking of which, I heard that guy is Autistic. Wow, I have to ask him to be a Special Guest Speaker at one of our meetings!!

Here's how October 5th was going to be set up: 7pm, I swim and play games with the little Autistic Kids as part of the Kelberman Center Pool Pals Program at the Utica College Pool. 9pm, is the Autism Awareness Club Meeting itself. At 10pm, it's Team Autism vs. Wonder-bread in a Flag Football Tournament game.

It was going to be an Autism Triathlon!!

Sunday Morning, October 4th, I had another bizarre dream. I had a dream that I ran the meeting in my regular clothes again. After that I went to the Pool Pals Program, but the meeting took so long, I was late for it. By the time I got there it was almost over and everyone was swimming. My partner must have been alone and unhappy. I didn't even bring my swimming shorts or towel. I was just staring at the other swimmers from the side of the pool, feeling alone, helpless, and sad.

After I woke up, I was a bit rattled. "Man, that's twice now. Are all these dreams telling me something? Am I going to screw this up again?" All of these thoughts were racing through my head.

Later that Sunday afternoon, I was getting a workout in at the Athletic Center while watching the Giants route the Chiefs. I ran into one of the members of our club who was also working out. She told me she couldn't make it to the meeting because she has a sorority meeting during that same time. It was the same sorority that has the Conference Center booked right after us. I obviously understood her conflict. At the same time, I was wondering. "They must be having a pre-game meeting before they let new-comers in for the rush at 10pm.

Does this mean they'll be in the Conference Room at the same time as us? We have it booked for 9pm though. I figured they were probably having the pre-game meeting somewhere else. I called a couple members from our club who were confirmed to be coming to the meeting. I requested that they be in the Conference Center at 8:40 pm in case the sorority came in so our member can let them know we have it booked for 9pm. Plus, our members could tell the other members of our club that this is the right place for the meeting.

I was worried that due to the swim program, showering and getting re-dressed, I would only be able to arrive right on time.

Monday October 5th finally arrived. I put on my Autism Awareness Club T-shirt and shorts on to start. Attended my classes, did Homework. The clock was ticking. The UC Hockey team and I took on the Woman's Basketball team in a basketball. game. We routed them and I had some positive stats to prove I contributed while wearing the Autism T-shirt. So far, a good start.

At a Quarter to 7, I arrived at the pool, with my swim shorts and towel. Things seem to be going smoothly so far. I reunited with my partner (For Privacy reasons, I will not reveal his name) and we swam and played games with the rest of the volunteers and little Autistic kids. It was a great time. We ended at a quarter to eight, then had a debriefing with all of the volunteers. That ended at about 8:05, leaving me less than an hour to hustle back to my room in Tower, shower, and get into my dress clothes.

I was hustling now. I entered into Tower and I was hustling up the flight of stairs. (My Residence Hall has an elevator but I'm not a fan of using the elevators. I like to work out!!) While I hustled up there with my towel and flip flops in my hand (I was wearing my sneakers, not bare feet) I saw this strange lady slowly go down the stairs past me. Her hair was down, covering her face and she had this scowl on her face through her hair. I moved to the side to let her get by. I just thought it was weird and I was a little crept me out.

Back on subject, I jumped in the shower. I was rushing while I was in there. I could not afford to waste too much time. I finally ran out and got into my dress clothes. Luckily for me it didn't take me too long to get the tie around my neck. By the time I was done it was only 8:40 pm. I was feeling good. I walked out of my room and approached one of my campus safety buddies.

Officer: Hey AJ, you're looking sharp!

AJ: Thank you so much!

Officer: What's the occasion?

AJ: Holding an Autism Awareness Club Meeting.

Officer: Where at?

AJ: Boelhart Conference Center

Officer: Are you sure about that?

AJ: huh??....uh-oh!

Officer: The Media Center guys are trying to get in to record your meeting but another group is in there at this time.

AJ: Oh No! The sorority must be in there but we have it booked for this time. I better go and straighten this out! Thank you so much for the head's up!

Officer: Your Welcome.

Our meeting was going to be recorded by the Media Center upon request by an Education Class that I was going to speak to the next night. (More details on that in my next blog post.)

I sprinted from Tower Hall to Boelhart even though dress shoes weren't meant for running.

What if it doesn't work out? What if the meeting doesn't happen because of this? My dream must have symbolized the future......AGAIN!!

I met the Media Center crew. I busted in the Conference Center room and informed the Sorority members during their meeting that the room was booked for 9pm. One of my good friends in the Sorority and I stepped outside in the "living dorm" portion of the Residence Hall.

She informed me that the the computer made a clinch when the club and org booked the events. She also informed me that she talked to Student Activities and as a consolation prize, our meeting would be moved to the Mellow Moose which is a Coffee Shop on campus. I agreed.

I phoned all of the confirmed people coming about the switch. The camera crew, a few of our members, and I marched to the Mellow Moose. There was actually a stage there where I stood on while the other members were sitting at tables, kind of like a stand-up comedy show only we will be talking about a serious issue.

I had the microphone in my hand. Eleven people came to the meeting. I was thrilled. Mom's plan worked after all. Three out of the eleven people came because of the e-mail I sent out to the professors so that plan went successful too.

Lights....Camera.......ACTION!

I started out the meeting by getting off the stage and interviewing people in the crowd, explaining how they are affected by Autism. One of our new members named Nick has high-functioning Autism like me. He is from the Utica area but he doesn't go to college here.

After I went around in the crowd, I stepped back oto the stage and lectured about the different kinds of Autism, a very general explanation of Autistic People's knowledge and obsessions, the symptoms of Autism, etc. It was incredible! Questions were asked and everything! After the meeting was over, I had a conversation with Nick and we talked for awhile. We relate to each other so well.

After going our separate ways, I was well aware I was late for the Flag Football game. I was originally planning on changing into my blue Eli Manning Jersey and putting on my blue and red New York Giants' hat but since I was so late, I decided to hustle to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium in my dress clothes and tie.

I stood on the sidelines watching Team Autism play. Hey, this is just like how my dreams went but in a reverse role of clothing and reverse order between the Autism Club and physical activity.

We were down 23-21, 4th and goal with less than a minute to go. Our QB threw a deep pass and it was caught by our receiver in the end-zone just on the edge of the Northwest out of bounds quadrant. We took the lead 28-23. Our defense was able to shut Wonder-Bread down and Team Autism was victorious and we are still alive in the tournament. I was celebrating with the rest of my team, jumping up and down. It was incredible!

Parts of my dream came true, but this time, it all ended up good! The Monday Night Autism-Triathlon was a huge success and you know what, had it not been for the no-show to the meeting on September 16th, I never would have gotten the opportunity to speak to a a Psych-Child Life Class in Spring of 2010, members who were notified by the professors would not have joined the club, and Autism would have not had a triumphant night thanks to the Autism Triathlon that took place on October 5th.

Later that night, walking back home from campus, I took my Autism key Lantern and raised it in the air while walking back to Tower from Strebel. The Lantern represents Autism and that symbolizes way more positive characteristics than negative ones.