I’m not naive enough to think a ‘timer’ is all it will take to turn our boy around. Many times it seems we are in way over our heads. Sometimes it feels like it’s time to wave the white flag.

Our current plan isn’t working.

So, I came up a new plan.  It has 4 main goals: Independence, Compliance, Structure/Routine and Focused Attention.  Within each of these goals, are specific objectives. Under compliance it states: Be prepared. Show visual card  while giving verbal command.  EXPECT compliance. Count to 5 using your fingers so Josiah can see them.  At 5, use a full physical prompt (which basically means, make him comply).

That piece right there has started to change things quite a bit. No more letting this boy call the shots.

It had gotten so bad around here, Josiah was either injuring himself or one of us every time he did not want to do something. When you have a kid bucking at every turn, it’s challenging to break through.  Trying to find a solution to keep Josiah from hurting himself and others, regressed to just not placing too many demands on him.

We are totally done with those shenanigans.

I created a more structured schedule, so no matter who is working with Josiah, each day should flow pretty much the same. The new schedule includes a community outing after lunch.  It can be to a park, a store, a movie, the library, the neighborhood pool or just about anywhere Josiah might consider to be fun. We don’t have to stay long but it is a requirement for Josiah to exit the vehicle and endure the activity for a preset amount of time.

Lately, we’ve had so much difficulty getting him out of the van, a friend lent us a wheelchair.  It goes everywhere we go, just in case we need it.

Stop and think about that for a minute.  Here’s a kid who loves to bounce, who jumps more often than he walks, who has so much energy he’s been described as ‘vibrating’.  We’re now transporting him around in a wheelchair to avoid self injurious and aggressive behavior.

I’m ashamed to admit it has gotten to this point.

The first community outing was to the splash pad in our subdivision.  Josiah had to get out of the van, walk up the sidewalk, through the gate, around the pool area and through a second gate. He had to sit for 5 full minutes a few feet away from the water fun, before being permitted to leave.

Sounds simple enough, right?

It was anything but.

Josiah repeatedly plopped to the ground.  We consistently lifted him back up. When I could, I positioned my body directly behind his with my arms wrapped firmly around his chest, holding him against me. As my legs moved forward, his had to as well.  But Josiah was determined not to walk. He managed to free himself often, drop to the ground, and refuse to move.  When we struggled to help him up, he scratched us, and tried to bang his head on the ground.

A friend was at the pool that day.  She raced over to help.  (Thank you sweet friend!!) With her help, we managed to get Josiah’s body in a chair by the splash pad, but not without creating a scene.  I couldn’t really focus on the other people at the pool, however, I did happen to glimpse a grandpa staring at us, wide eyed, in disbelief.  Wonder what the poor man must have been thinking.

I set the timer on my phone while Josiah sat. When he was calm, we praised him for sitting and fed him some of his favorite snack. The timer rang. We braced ourselves for the challenging long walk back to the van.

Josiah stood up and walked/ran out of there.  He breezed past the pool and raced to the van.  My friend noticed Josiah smiling as he passed her.

What a stinker.

The next day we repeated the same scenario.  Josiah had to sit for 6 minutes.  He did it so much better, we were amazed.  He only hesitated once.

The day after that, we did it again.  Josiah was a rock star. He walked to the splash pad with ease and sat happily for 7 minutes. We were even able to encourage him to leave the chair to come close to the water.

I don’t know who he thought he was kidding, but this boy’s number is up.  Next time, he’s wearing a bathing suit.