So you know over the weekend I was in that horrible funk. Man, I hate feeling like that! I was on the verge of tears all weekend. There must have been some hormones involved.
Anyway, one of the things I was freaking out about is some assesment results we got back. Angela is developmentally 5-6 years old right now, and as an adult will probably be somewhere around 10-12 years old. After the meeting I was stuck in the mode of thinking about what level of independence Angela will have as an adult. Now, I've raised 4 kids already, so I know what 10-12 year olds are like, but apparently I was having amnesia or something. Many of you provided me with great examples of what your typical kids are doing at that age now, reminding me that that isn't quite so bad.
So yesterday morning I was woken by a "bang" in the kitchen. As I struggled to a conscious state I could hear Angela jabbering away. Many years ago someone taught her to narrate what she's doing. This has been a wonderful tool for me, as she is SO not able to be sneaky when she's narrating. LOL Anyway, here is what I heard...
"Here it is. Peanut butter" (bang of cabinet door) "and da jelly too. Don't forget the jelly. Nope, can't forget that." (bang of fridge door)
"two pieces of bread. One....two. Close it up. No Zurri, no bread for you. Nope, only dog food. No bread for dogs. See Zurri, I put it up high. HA ha!"
(rattling of the silverware drawer) "Heres a knife. See Zurri? Not a blank handle. Nope, black handles are dangruss. Silver handles are safe."
(very quiet here, then lip smacking sounds.) "Oops...forgot...no licking knives. That's not safe. Nope, not safe at all."
"And yogurt. Yep, yogurt in my lunch. Oh, and a spoon. Here's plastic ones. Not metal ones in the lunch, only plastic. See Zurri? Plastic. Can you say Plastic?"
"MOoooooom!!! I'm packing my lunch mom! Mooooooomm! I did it! My lunch is all packed up!"
We have a long ways to go before Angela is moving out on her own. I think we're gonna be ok.
Anyway, one of the things I was freaking out about is some assesment results we got back. Angela is developmentally 5-6 years old right now, and as an adult will probably be somewhere around 10-12 years old. After the meeting I was stuck in the mode of thinking about what level of independence Angela will have as an adult. Now, I've raised 4 kids already, so I know what 10-12 year olds are like, but apparently I was having amnesia or something. Many of you provided me with great examples of what your typical kids are doing at that age now, reminding me that that isn't quite so bad.
So yesterday morning I was woken by a "bang" in the kitchen. As I struggled to a conscious state I could hear Angela jabbering away. Many years ago someone taught her to narrate what she's doing. This has been a wonderful tool for me, as she is SO not able to be sneaky when she's narrating. LOL Anyway, here is what I heard...
"Here it is. Peanut butter" (bang of cabinet door) "and da jelly too. Don't forget the jelly. Nope, can't forget that." (bang of fridge door)
"two pieces of bread. One....two. Close it up. No Zurri, no bread for you. Nope, only dog food. No bread for dogs. See Zurri, I put it up high. HA ha!"
(rattling of the silverware drawer) "Heres a knife. See Zurri? Not a blank handle. Nope, black handles are dangruss. Silver handles are safe."
(very quiet here, then lip smacking sounds.) "Oops...forgot...no licking knives. That's not safe. Nope, not safe at all."
"And yogurt. Yep, yogurt in my lunch. Oh, and a spoon. Here's plastic ones. Not metal ones in the lunch, only plastic. See Zurri? Plastic. Can you say Plastic?"
"MOoooooom!!! I'm packing my lunch mom! Mooooooomm! I did it! My lunch is all packed up!"
We have a long ways to go before Angela is moving out on her own. I think we're gonna be ok.
3 comments:
Way to go Angela!!!! Sounds to me like she's going to be just fine too! At Vandy there is a young woman with Ds who works in the surgery recovery room. She ROCKS! She makes her own lunch every day, then takes the bus to work and she spends the day stocking all the rooms with supplies and changing the linens between patients. She looks ADORABLE in her scrubs! And oh man she has attitude! I wish you could meet her, she reminds me a lot of Angela. I think the future is bright! :)
Way to go Angela!!! Luv Ya, Jennifer
Were these school assessment tests? How can they predict where she'll be as an adult? Do remember that wherever our kids come out on the "official developmental chart" they still have the life experiences of their current age. And my thinking is that life experiences help us learn more than and give us more wisdom than picking out the next sequence of patterns on a chart. I think she'll be just fine. Throw that test away and keep doing what you're doing for Angela. You are providing her with rich life experiences--swimming, voice lessons, theatre group, a loving supportive home. Many, many typical kids are not receiving all the love, attention and support that you and Dean give Angela. And you know as well as I do that a person with a positive outlook on life, a good support network, and confidence in themselves is 300% better prepared for being successful in life than a kid who is an intellectual genius, but has a crappy attitude about themselves, others and life in general. Press on!
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