We are not where we use to be

Over the last couple of months, we have accomplished so much and in such a short time. Everytime, this child of mine continue to move his goal post and this gives me so much hope for what is yet to come. I spent the latter part of 2021 thinking about what adult service will look like for Samuel i.e. will he leave independently, in a supported living environment or a group setting. Will he be able to cater for himself, manage finances or even maintain proper hygiene. So many thoughts were going through my head as we move towards adulthood.

Do i know what Samuel’s living situation will look like in 5, 10, 20 years? Nope but i do know that he has gained so much independence within this summer break. Samuel still has to be reminded to shower but i think this is a teenager issue rather than Autism. Our accomplishment in this area is that i dont have to scrub him down everytime anymore. He routinely put his deodorant and perfume on with minimal reminder

The biggest change thou is laundry and cleaning the house. Every Saturday with no prompt, Samuel does everyone’s laundry and on Sundays, he coordinate with his brother to ensure that all clothes gets to their different destinations. I love how his autism gives him that edge at being comdortable and excelling at routines. …i personally get bored too quickly so routine is not for me…but Samuel thrives in having a routine and follows it to a T.

Samuel took on the responsibility of cleaning the main floor every 3 days and this includes the mopping of the floor. I remember him assigning taks to his brother couple of weeks ago and i was excited to see a glimpse of his leadership skill. Don’t get me wrong, all this did not come easy, it took alot of explaining, guiding and discussion. I remember when we told him about doing his laundry and i explained to him that college is around the corner and we wanted him to be prepared. He couldn’t understand why he needed to start now, he felt like it is something one does at 18. Even with the cleaning of the floor, when we told him every 3 days, we had to explain what we meant….1,2,3…and clean floors or 1,2,3 and on the 4th day clean floor. Samuel seeks clarity in his own unique way and i love it.

We have such a long way to go but we are far ahead of where we were yesterday. Next time, i should share on our discussion around dating, obtaining G1 and getting a part time job 🙂

We really are not where we use to be #gratefulheart