Sure it saddens me that my three year old can not only pronounce Cerebral Palsy but knows he has it and that he is different but it also makes me proud that he is aware, knows he's unique and that he wont let it get in his way.
This came about a couple weeks ago as we were on our way home from school. Later in the day it was "Why is everyone always grabbing me?" "I just want to walk with my walker by myself and not be picked up!". Very valid questions and requests and as Ryder's mommy I am so very grateful that he can communicate these feelings with us so we can properly meet his needs. He is so right. Why is everyone always grabbing him? We just pick him up, pass him off, move him around never ounce asking him if that's OK?! Is he a baby? No, definitely not. He is a three year old who like all three year old's wants his independence; to do things by himself weather that be with a piece of equipment or not. Tyler and I talked about it and came up with a plan and so far so good.
First we started asking his permission before helping him. This seems to be working very well. Sometimes we forget (and he lets us know) and we explain how Mommy and Daddy are learning just like him. Next we decided to request a proper handicap parking spot near the ramp at his school. Before it was a regular parking spot and the ramp was almost always blocked. As a result we usually left his walker at school and carried him back and forth. Within a week we had our handicap spot and Ryder has been walking in and out of school with the biggest smile on his face since. It has made such a difference in the morning drop offs too. Ryder would always tell his teacher not to hold him and act a bit "crusty" in the mornings. Now he zips through those doors and is ready to go! We are also starting to let him walk in his walker in more places. He gets tiered fairly quickly but if we just need to go into one store and grab a few things we will let him at least try. It takes us 20x's longer to get what we need and he does attract a load of unnecessary attention but the look on his face is SO worth it. Finally, we decided it's time to put in the request for Ryder to get fitted for a wheelchair. He's getting to the age where he really doesn't want to be in a "baby" stroller and he tiers too fast just to use his walker. We were trying to wait as long as possible for the wheelchair but now the time feels right. We have talked to him about it and he thinks a chair is an awesome idea. He will gain so much more independence and really that's exactly what hes asking for.
Feeling good about Ryder. Where he's at. Who he is. And how far he has come!
