Wil set the alarm on his iPad last night for school (I showed him how after asking the twins if they had an old alarm clock Wil could use. Elizabeth said, “Mom, just use his iPad” 🙄).
On mornings I work, Katherine or Elizabeth typically wake Wil. He is very independent now, and it’s getting rarer for him to have sluggish mornings. Even if he does get stuck at times, he recovers much quicker.
As getting Wil out of bed does not require the patient encouragement it used to, I suggested he try getting himself up. He was all about it.
Just last year, setting his own alarm would not have been an option. He would have felt abandoned. He required our encouragement and our consistency to start his day right. If there was even one chink in the chain, it could throw the whole day off.
Many of Wil’s behaviors have been associated with challenges in communication. But with his desire for independence, his communication skills continue to expand.
He has the maturity now to see how communication gets him where he wants to go. His ability to ask for help when he needs it, and to more clearly identify and express his emotions, has helped him make forward strides. He still runs off when he is overwhelmed or frustrated, and likely will for some time. But again, he recovers more quickly than in times past. The more exposure he has with these situations, such as his recent choir experience I wrote about, the more confidence he’ll build.
This morning Wil woke to his alarm, dressed in the outfit he picked out the night before, ate breakfast, filled his water bottle and put it in his backpack. When I got home from work, he was rocking in the rocking chair watching Wild Kratts.
“Mom! I’m all dressed!” He said as he popped out of the rocking chair with both arms raised.
Whenever Wil hits a growth spurt like this my head spins in wonder. Only a year ago, this leap wasn’t possible. Whenever I force time on Wil, he forces back. But when the foundation is laid, and we progress the best way we know how, the time reveals itself.
WILingness 