Day Three
And Good feelings gone…though not forgotten, the glory moments
of yesterday still echo in my brain even as I scrubbed Bradley clean in the
shower today, took everything to laundry, double and then triple checked the couch
and then sat next to him while he ate his PB&J sandwich – trying to not
worry that washing my hands five times might not be enough…or – when, in what
way and where for the Love of all that is holy – will this sandwich reappear? Not
only did he not make the toilet, but he also didn’t attempt to make the toilet,
didn’t even give a courtesy grunt that trouble was brewing, and certainly
managed to hold the stench in for as long as possible so that he could achieve
maximum impact once he unleashed this terror upon his poor unassuming mother.
He also waited about ten minutes after his sister had left for the day, so I
was vastly outnumbered…oh and the kicker – he had just gone about twenty
minutes prior. The stench was so bad (thank you oral antibiotics for that) I
had to double check I still had eyebrows once I had him cleaned up. I do have
them still in case you were wondering, although I think they might be thinner
and slightly singed. Sigh.
Now having been superiorly cleaned and then fed, he is
sitting across from me doing what is one of his most favorite things to do in
the world. Yes, it involves an iPad…in fact, it involves two. Hold up! Hear me
out. We all know he is spoiled rotten, but not in this instance, I swear!
Bradley has a fascination with taking pictures. When he is
at school or therapy, he uses his Speech iPad and his voice to communicate his
needs and desires. He answers questions and asks them. I hear this is going well
and hope to see it someday. You see at home, he uses his voice as much as we
can understand, and he uses sign (which only Madison and I understand) and then
strictly boycotts the use of his Speech iPad. All attempts have resulted in him
switching to camera mode and taking pictures. And as long as no one rats me out
or the NSA isn’t reading my blog, I’ll tell you that he likes to take pictures
of his favorite shows on the other iPad. At the end of each day, I remove
multiple hundreds of pictures (Hear that NSA – I delete them, I don’t sell
them. Considering they are rarely in focus – bite me – no one wants them).
Because apparently, I just like to fight with my son, I would
always keep his speech iPad under Guided Access, so he can’t get to the camera.
Once he figures out the way to get the password screen to pop up with the three
clicks – that might never be an option again. He knows his code and how to get into
his Speech iPad so that he can get it going to tell emergency personnel or some
(hopefully) kind stranger who he is if he gets lost. Although this was always
our original intent – help him communicate with a stranger when he is in need –
the likelihood he will get lost with this iPad seems to be little to none. He doesn’t
take it in his little med backpack when he goes out and about in the world, it’s
always in his classroom. Yeah, not the best scenario. So now he has a GPS
tracker that he keeps in his little med backpack because that is always with
him, and I know this as I watch his blip go to the bathroom or the playground
during the day (some reassurance).
Anyway, I digress. Why does spoiled boy have two iPads in
his hands right now? His hands. Right there, that’s my current plan. Bradley is
horrible about keeping his hands out of his mouth. Horrible about it. Nothing
has worked so far. He is oblivious to threats, take his movie, he could care
less. He will find a toy, or he will lay to against the side of the couch and
cry like a little wounded puppy – hand in his mouth the whole time. So
obviously, he doesn’t get it. But remember how I said Bradley loves to take
pictures? In order to get his pictures, he has to use both his hands to hold up
the Speech iPad to take a picture of the one in his lap, or of his favorite toys. He does that too. He will line up his favorite
toys and take pictures of them either individually or in groups. He actually has
some pretty cool shots on there. Those stay, it helps staff at all locations to
have an insight into Bradley’s favorite things – or at least favorite enough to
record them on film.
Here's the things, while the iPad is in picture taking mode,
Bradley is in picture taking mode, and the hands are taking a break from being
in his mouth. I thought about this for quite a while before implementing. The last
thing I will ever do is undermine school and I was worried that he would be
difficult at school if he couldn’t get to his camera. But I have talked to his
teacher, we have discussed this interest of his and now, there are times during
the day he can earn time with his camera or at least his pictures. Once he
takes them, he loves looking at them. The more I can keep his hands out of his
mouth, the longer each time, I do believe we can replace the habit of putting them
in his mouth all the time. This is a newer work in progress. With how long
potty training is taking, I am not optimistic this will be a fast change if it
ever happens at all. But I must keep trying. And before you ask – because that
would be great question…Yes, I have tried other items to hand him and have him
hold. He has access to all kinds of things he can hold in one hand, things he
really likes too: from blocks to Magna Tiles, to Dominoes (a fan favorite for
souvenirs actually, like the set I brought to him from Las Vegas that say LV,
total mom win that day!). All can be successful deterrents, but all can be put
down to be put aside for his hands…and quite a few have zoomed right by my head
if not bouncing off something vital on the way. He is a boy with strong
opinions.
So now he is up and, on the move, – sadly, nowhere near the
bathroom. Now I track him down, settle him again and will edit this once we’ve
done all that.
31For21 Blog Challenge for Down Syndrome Awareness. If it
were easy anyone could do it.
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