Today feels like a victory in the making. Many pieces that I have been waiting to come together are finally falling into place, maybe. And so many of the steps that Owen and I have gone over came tumbling out all on there own this morning. I put Owen’s milk cup in the refrigerator at night so that he has the task of getting his milk out in the morning. I’ll put it in different locations so that he has to go through the steps of finding it. At first, this was very frustrating for him and me, but I felt like he needed to be able to work through these emotions and hopefully apply them to other areas that don’t necessarily go according to plan or when he expects something to be in the same location. I questioned my tactics, but I also see progress so I kept moving forward. I’ve now been asking him to bring me the milk container out of the refrigerator when he requests “more milk pwease”. This too has been working. Now I’ve moved on to putting an empty cup in the refrigerator for him to get in the mornings. Today, today was a big day for our success story. He realized it was empty and he knew he wanted milk. He got his cup, tucked it under his arm, and got the milk carton. Here he came to me with both. The request came as he handed them to me, “more milk pwease” and I have to say I tried to contain my emotions so he would get upset. My showing of emotions can throw the progress off and this was huge so I want him to keep working through the steps. I might not be containing my emotions now though. Life skills are so important to his growth and to the start of his independence. I get overwhelmed when I sit through a progress report or think about the things Owen can’t do, but then I remind myself of the skills Owen can do. And today he made huge progress. We are working on his fine motor skills so he can write, use utensils, and dress himself, but all of those things are coming. The big picture is full of growth and amazing progress. Owen told me about his day with lead-in statements and questions that he could answer. This from the little boy the doctors told me might not talk. Believe in miracles, dream through inspired eyes, and know that you can make a difference. Smiles to all and donut daze!
RSS Feed