Trials of Learning

We have been having a really hard time with Clayton learning how to do any little task. He actually told Terry last night that he doesnt' know how to learn. Really discouraging to us, cuz we're working really hard lately to teach the boys how to work and be hard workers when they work. We don't want them to be lazy. But oftentimes, Clayton will start out picking things up or working with us and then trail off and play when he doesn't know how to do a particular job.

Terry and I were talking about it last night, trying to gain insight and collect ideas on what we could do to help C through this hump and help him to learn. We have been so used to Brent's style of learning where we can just explain to him how to do something or show him one time, and he's got it and can do it from that point on. However, with C that doesnt' work. And he gets so frustrated that he just cries...and you can see it on his face that it truly upsets him that he physically cannot do many of the things we expect of him. Anyway, after talking we have decided to try actually holding his hands during a learning process and moving his hands through the motions. This worked very well with overcoming the frustrations of the spoon at the table....the food would fall off his spoon or he couldn't even get it on there to begin with and he would just give up eating all together for that meal. We finally had to physically manipulate his hands and put our hands on his and show him how to use one hand to hold the spoon and the other hand (or finger) to push the food onto his spooon. That worked well, but even now there are times he starts to get upset cuz his 'food won't work' and we remind him again (verbally this time) how to push the food on with his other hand. And again, it's like a lightbulb flashes in his brain, and he says, "Oh, yeah...I forgot."

So that brings me to today...folding laundry. I have started the chore of them folding their own laundry and putting it away. I'm always there to sort it and surpervise, but they do the folding. Today it took us almost an hour to fold one basket, but it is worth it in the long run I know! But C was doing okay with folding his pants, but when it came to his shirts he almost had a meltdown. Well, I did what Terry and I discussed last night and took his hands and arranged the shirt the way I wanted him to hold it, and together we folded the shirt while I gave verbal instructions. Luckily, he had about 15 shirts to fold in total and so he got lots of practice. However, he was still struggling even up to the end and I was still holding his hands and helping him do it.

This is very hard for me....it takes so much more time than what I think it should and I know that God is teaching me a tremendous amount of patience, both with Clayton and with myself, through all of these trials of learning.