Autism and Pokemon TCG

Note: This post is old; I have just had it in drafts for a while and I decided to get back to it.

Well the Lord has blessed us and in some rather unexpected ways.

As I have mentioned earlier, after a few months of being on a special diet to control his sugar and insulin, Josh's behavior improved rather dramatically.

1. He is no longer afraid to go to school or get on the bus.
2. His tantrums are shorter and less frequent
3. And we get some time to ourselves for a change.

Sometime last year, my son developed an interest in the Pokemon Trading Card Game and he was lamenting that there was no one else around our area that was playing it.   

I thought about it about it I decided to take him with me to the Great Escape.  I thought if anyone would know about such meet up groups, it would be them.  As it happens, one of the customers there knew of a place close by to us that did in fact have Pokemon TCG tournements and so I took Josh there.

We did have a good time there and he did meet some people there and his social skills did improve a little while he was there.



As for me, I felt like I learned a good bit too.  I was amazed at how much these kids knew about the game and about other TCGs.  The adults that were there did good job of explaining the rules of the game and encouraged Josh and myself to challenge other players.  It was a good learning experience for both Josh and myself.

If you have someone who does have some form of autism, and they seem to like these TCGs, I would encourage you to seek out a group nearby that plays them.  You may find that the other players have something in common.

Here is a link to the card game itself.
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Trading_Card_Game

The location we visited is called Next Level Games and it specializes in all kinds of TCG including Magic:The Gathering,   YuGi-O,  Vanguard and others.

http://thenextlevelgames.crystalcommerce.com/