Next on the list is Mr. Gavin. Gavin has been doing pretty well, at least behaviorally. He loses his temper but never lashes out at another living thing physically, aside from himself anyway.

This weekend, Gavin and I decided to spend some time rearranging his bedroom. He’s got a smaller room and a queen-size bed. Space is at a premium and we wanted to change things around to make better use of the available space. During the process of moving furniture around in his room, I noticed or perhaps was just reminded that his problem-solving skills are sorely lacking.

We had to manipulate his furniture around the room in ways that allowed us to move other pieces of furniture as well. It was sorta along the lines of matching shapes. He just kept trying to shove the square peg into the round hole, so to speak.

Rather than simply correct him, I stopped him and we worked out what the best thing to do was and why. It made things sorta drag out considerably but I feel like it’s the right thing to do.

To his credit, he kept himself under control and was most receptive. He doesn’t like making mistakes and that’s usually one of his biggest triggers. To me, it’s not so much about the mistakes themselves but rather learning what we can them and applying that to future situations.

It’s definitely going to be a lifelong work in progress. Progress is slow at best but this kid never gives up and neither will I.