One of the most common things I hear (and what many of my friends who have children w disabilities hear) is, “well, just make him do it.”
I literally feel a huge distance grow between us with this seeming logic. And yet, it’s a very difficult distance to close as there is no logical explanation. It’s a “living it” thing.
We parents, special education teachers, para educators, and caregivers are constantly on the alert for “triggers” that cause our kids to dig in their heels.
Some of these triggers are constant, and we have created ways to work with them.
Some of these triggers are only known to our kids and appear spontaneously to us. And when triggered, there is no “make him do it.”
When Wil refused to get on a connecting flight, how I wish I could give the “make him do it-ers” a chance to use their logic on Wil that day. That would have been a helluva education.
Heck, I don’t know even know it all and I’ve been raising Wil for over 15 years, not to mention knowing many other children with Down syndrome quite well. And each and every kid defies this logic.
So next time you want to think it’s logical, and fits some kind of mold, I challenge you to spend a day with Wil, his friends, or in a life skills room, and let me know how that logic goes for you.
WILingness 