As Evan & I were driving to school today we went through our usual morning conversation: what day of the week it was, what were we going to do tonight (which Evan will ask several times a day, social guy he is!), what Dad was going to do today. "Life Skills today?" Evan asked. "Yes," I replied. "I know the way," he said very seriously. "You mean how to get to the high school?" "No, to class. I know the way."
My mommy radar perked up. This was more than just letting me know he knew where the classroom was. I remembered last Thursday when I took him to Life Skills. We pulled up in front of the public high school & I was just about out of the car when Evan told me he knew the way. "Well, I'll just walk you in to make sure Mrs. Fitzgerald is there," I had said. Now the subject was coming up again. Decision time.
Here is our thought process in decision times like this: 1) his desire for independence is good, 2) his sense of direction is very good (Evan can tell anyone how to get to our house, the church, Wal-Mart) but 3) his knowledge of what to do if the teacher is not there or if he makes a wrong turn is very poor. This is where he gets bogged down. He really struggles with knowing what to do in unexpected situations. He still doesn't know what to do if he gets separated from us at the store. Somehow it just has never sunk in, even though he has been lost 3 or 4 times. (I swear I watch him like a hawk, but he can vanish in a second!)
So we will concoct a plan to enable Evan to walk from the high school parking lot to his Life Skills classroom and to the Speech Therapy room. We will work out a safety net plan in case the teacher is not in the class. And I will be nervous as heck until he really gets the routine down pat. I am glad he is pushing me, gently, to let him navigate these things on his own. His desire for this bit of independence will hopefully help him learn the importance of his "what to do if..." lessons.
This incident also reminds me of God, who pushes me gently, with a quiet insistence. When I am afraid or reluctant to make a certain decision, He speaks to me in the voice of my son. "I know the way,' He says, "Just follow me. It will be o.k."
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