Josiah requires assistance to do most everything. He needs help with eating. He needs help with bathing. He needs help with dressing. He needs help in the bathroom. Basically, he needs alot of help. We use a prompting sequence to guide him. We use verbal prompts and physical prompts to encourge him to do as much of a task as possible.

Sometimes it is so much easier to do something for him than to WAIT for Josiah to do it. The prompting sequence can take a while. Josiah can take even longer. We don’t always have time in our schedule to wait. So sometimes, we just do things for him. We know it doesn’t help him though. So, as often as possible, we allow Josiah to do as much of a task as he is capable of.

He’s learning. He’s becoming more willing to do things for himself. Just recently, Josiah stood by my bed at 4 in the morning and plopped a gallon of cold milk on my stomach. He had made his way to the refrigerator, figured out he needed help and came to me for assistance. I was pretty impressed. I was also very thankful the lid was on tight.

Josiah takes my hand and throws it up at a cabinet too high for him to reach. This is his way of telling me,  I know my favorite cookies are up there. I want one. He gets the dog leash off the hook in the laundry room and brings it to me. This means. I want to walk Mocha. He finds my purse and throws it in my lap. This means, I want to go for a ride.

He has started randomly turning on the water faucets in our master bathroom. Today, he grabbed a cup, filled it with the rushing water and took a drink. Never mind that he prefers to throw the cup when he’s done or that he typically walks away with the water still flowing from the faucet full force. This is progress.

He’s 9. We are making baby steps. I am pleased.