List Update!

Last week, I made Ethan a 25 Days of Christmas Chain, and he was wanting to open all of them at once. So, in order to help him understand "tomorrow", we made a quick "order of events" list that helped him know when it was time to open another chain link. This was about a week ago.....and he already is independent from this list!

I have noticed that the last couple of days, he hasn't looked at the list in the morning. However, when I pick him up from school, he says, "Step one complete! Step two....come home." This has shown me that in less than a week, he no longer is relying on reading his list. He has already learned the steps....what comes next.....and that is the ultimate goal for any of these step-by-step lists.....to learn/understand the sequence & no longer need the visual/audible support. I'm so excited to see that Ethan is already independent of this list.

So....this is giving me an idea. During Christmas vacation, I was considering trying the potty training thing again. But he is still being very adamant about not using the toilet.....I think I tried it too early & he has bad feelings about it or something. A couple of weeks ago, I quit everything related to potty training because he was holding it in....and we had to intervene medically....yikes. So, listening to my instincts & others' advice, we have backed off completely.

But....there are some other things that we could really focus on during Christmas vacation. And since my husband home for a week as well, this would be a perfect time to work on some things. So....I am planning on working on some of Ethan's independent skills.....getting dressed, brushing his teeth, eating, and so on. I have been doing all of these by giving Ethan the step-by-step instructions verbally. I tried the picture sequencing thing but that didn't do the trick, so I have continued to do it verbally. BUT....he responded so well to the list that I want to try it with these other skills as well. So.....stay tuned......more lists will be coming soon!!!!