Imagine having an important conversation while giving an equal amount of attention to those talking in the surrounding area and being distracted by the sunlight shining through the window, or not being able to resist the urge of fidgeting with the zipper on a jacket — then being asked to retain all of the information from that current conversation.
This is a small insight into the world of 12-year-old Jackson Gentry and many others living with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Part of Gentry’s issue with his autism is what his mother Sarah describes as a processing disorder. Jackson will listen to a verbal instruction, but it will take a couple of seconds to process the information and then a few more seconds before actually beginning to complete the task.
“A lot of times, teachers or other adults don’t understand,” said Sarah, who is an English teacher at Columbus East. “They think he’s being disrespectful, and they don’t understand that processing delay. So what will happen is, he’ll get dinged or maybe punished for not doing something right away.”
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Jackson struggles in being comfortable in crowded environments such as a cafeteria or other social settings. Loud atmospheres and physical contact can be easy triggers for Jackson to have a sudden outburst. Sarah and her husband Chris have helped Jackson improve on his social skills by putting him in a variety of different therapies that include music therapy, light therapy, therapeutic horse riding and physical therapy. Some of the those have helped Jackson in the past, but none have made as big of an impact as playing hockey.
Getting introduced to hockey
Jackson never had even put on a pair of ice skates before Sarah and Chris were approached by a couple of friends about bringing him out to the Hamilton Center ice rink a little more than two years ago. Sarah didn’t think it would go well, and the first visit proved her right. Jackson skated around the rink yelling and screaming telling his mother that he wanted to get off the ice.
“I said, ‘I paid for an hour. You’re staying on for an hour,’ and I didn’t think we would come back,” Sarah said. “Then the next week, I said, ‘Do you want to go to hockey?’ and he said ‘Yeah.’ I was surprised.”
The Hamilton Center youth house league practices consist of six different stations of drills. Jackson usually skated off into his own world and often times didn’t finish the drill during his first season. Jarod Buchta is one of the league coaches that worked closely with Jackson and made sure to redirect him back to the appropriate station.
Although Jackson struggled with paying attention initially, he enjoyed the sport enough to keep coming back.
“He had never really been a part of anything super organized, so it was a huge transition for him” Sarah said. “We just kept bringing him. Jarod kept saying just keep bringing him, and all of his coaches did, really. He’ll catch on. It did take him a little bit longer than his typical peers, but once he got the hang of it, I think it was the confidence and enjoying it and feeling successful. It’s all this work he’s put into it, and now he’s starting to see the fruits of his efforts.”
It took about a year-and-a-half for Jackson to get the hang of the sport. The house league plays Saturday games, and with a year under his belt, Jackson had yet to score a goal. Buchta remembers the moment Jackson finally got his first goal and how that changed his demeanor on the ice moving forward. Jackson scored his first goal on a lucky fluke shot, but seeing that puck go through the goal flipped a switch for Jackson.
“After that, something just clicked,” Buchta said. “He just turned on. He became a player I never seen before. He was a whole different person. He went on to score two more goals and then some more. Then the next week, he scored like eight or nine goals.”
In less than two years, Jackson went from a kid who had trouble finishing drills to an athlete who is excited to be at practice and scoring goals on game-day. Things got even better for Jackson after meeting Nathan Red of Assisted Independence.
Using hockey to improve social skills
Jackson receives social assistance through the state, which qualifies him for a Medicaid waiver that gives him funding for therapeutic services. Jackson began to outgrow some of his therapies, so his case manager introduced him to Red. Red was a good fit for Jackson because both of them like to play hockey. Sarah asked if hockey could be used as a type of therapy and Red was eager to get it started.
Red has created a hockey recreational therapy specifically for Jackson by giving him hockey lessons every Monday at the Hamilton Center.
“It’s been so great,” Jackson said of playing hockey. “I actually love it because it gets me a good workout. I’ve learned how to go on one knee and get back up. I’ve also learned to jump over the lines and I’ve also learned how to do back hands.”
Jackson works on his shooting, footwork and balance and coordination during his one-on-one sessions with Red. Jackson has gotten good enough to the point where he has tried out for this year’s youth travel team, but the consequences of his one-on-one sessions are much deeper than simply becoming a better hockey player.
Red often times reinforces positive behaviors during instructions with tangible physical rewards like a candy bar and creates what he calls positive punishments for unexceptionable behavior by adding a drill that’s not as fun.
“These therapeutic services are all about putting Jackson in an environment where he has an ability to focus,” Red said. “Where he has an opportunity to learn what he can block out and putting him in a position where he can succeed.”
Jackson attended a few sessions with Red in December, but really didn’t start hitting it hard until January. Sarah has witnessed improvements at home and in the classroom with Jackson since bringing hockey into his life.
“Hockey has been a great vehicle for him to learn how to focus,” Sarah said. “Before we started hockey, he was much more scattered. His behavior, attention and everything (has gotten better).”
Being focused on following the drills and understanding the consequences of not following directions has on the ice has helped Jackson understand the importance of maintaining focus in other parts of his life like his fifth-grade classroom at Custer Baker Intermediate School in Franklin. There have been less outbursts from Jackson at home, and Sarah said he complies more quickly now. She and Chris are able to use the possibility of missing hockey to help correct certain behaviors.
Playing hockey has helped his ability to cope with physical contact, also. Jackson used to have a hard time when dealing with being bumped on the ice, but he now understands the context of what’s happening and no longer takes it personal.
Hockey also has helped him become more comfortable with establishing relationships with his peers and has created a higher sense of confidence for him. His attention span when holding conversations and retaining information has also significantly improved during the hockey process.
“I just think that the benefits that he’s getting from hockey are just incalculable,” Sarah said. “I don’t think that we would have gotten the results from anything else. He just hasn’t responded to any other activities like he’s responded to hockey, and I’m not sure why that is but we’re grateful.”
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Name: Jackson Gentry
School: Custer Baker Intermediate School (Franklin)
Grade: Fifth
Hockey team: Hamilton Center house league
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