Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

My daughter has horse therapy each week.  I recently had to call the director and speak with her about a few concerns I had.  My daughter was enjoying riding but she would kind of shut down after each session.  It would take a good thirty minutes or so for her to start talking to and making eye contact with me again.  The volunteers that were helping her would ask her to say or do something during the session, and when she would ignore them, they would just keep walking beside her horse and let it go.  If you know my daughter, you know that she will test you to see how much she can get away with.  If she doesn't have to talk, she won't.  If you cater to her, she will take full advantage.  Not that I blame her.  If people catered to me all day, I would probably sit back and let them also. 

When we arrived at horse therapy yesterday, they had placed a younger volunteer with her.  I am sure she was probably in college, but she looked like she could have been in high school.  I thought to myself,  here we go again.  Surely, this young girl wouldn't have any clue how to deal with my daughter with autism.  

Well, I am happy to admit that I was completely wrong.  This girl had my daughter saying and doing things on the horse that none of the other volunteers had been able to.  She was kind to my little girl, but she insisted that when she asked a question that my daughter answered.  They were a perfect match.  After the session, my daughter was more engaged with me.  She made great eye contact and answered when I asked her about the lesson.  This is a huge improvement from the previous sessions.  

Even though I have spoken previously about not judging others, I realize that I am sometimes guilty of doing just that.  This little experience has opened my eyes to the fact that if I expect others to be less judgmental, then I need to hold myself to those same standards.  I will do my best to be less skeptical regarding the people who work with my daughter.  Maybe one of these days I will listen to my own advice and  not "judge a book by it's cover".