Independence

I caught Will reading to his sister the other day.  This was one of his favorite books as a baby - I must have read it 800 times on airplanes.

(to hear, please push pause on the music playlist)

When you have a child with a disability, I think one of the big initial questions is how independent the child will become.  Doctors and therapists give their opinions and sometimes you can't help but watch other children, your child's peers, and compare and wonder when and if your child will master the same skills and milestones.

We determined early on that we wanted our children to use as few pieces of adaptive equipment as possible.  We have nothing against adaptive equipment.  We just don't want Will or Ellie to be so dependent on something that if it is broken or missing or if they forget it that they miss out on doing life.  So, Will uses prosthetics although he can function just fine without them  (they are good for when he needs shoes on.)  He uses special scissors too.  And until recently, he's used a special spoon attached to a wristband.  When he learned to feed himself with that spoon and wristband, it was awesome!  We celebrate things in our home that others might take for granted.

But, I hated being dependent on that wristband.  We only had 3 and they are kind of expensive and I just don't want him to be a teenager someday and unable to spontaneously go out to eat with friends because he forgot his wristband.

With our recent move, I can't find the wristbands and spoons.

So, when he requested milk and cereal for breakfast the other day, I let him try it with a regular spoon.

And, he DID it!  

He ate his cereal with a regular spoon without spilling.

And, Ellie, with her limited range of motion, is striving too to reach her goals.  We want to give her independence and functionality. So teaching her to grab an object and get it to her mouth is important for functioning in the future and feeding herself.

Looks like we've got that one covered!

I am so thankful for the opportunity to witness miracles daily.