For all Gavin’s struggles, and they are many, he still does some pretty amazing things. While he’ll never be independent, that doesn’t mean he’s not gaining some independence. ☺

Every single morning, Gavin begins his day with a bowl of oatmeal. He makes it all by himself and when he doesn’t have chocolate chips to mix in, he simply cuts up an apple instead. He used a special tool we have that let’s him safely cut up and remove the core of an apple. He doesn’t use a knife, especially unsupervised.

My whole point here is that it’s important that I focus on things like this because it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the things he can’t do. The reality is, there are a great many things he can do and I like to spend more time focusing on those things.

Anything he is able to do on his own is a form of independence. It gives him some autonomy and a feeling of pride. I think it’s amazing that he’s able to do some of the things he can, even though in many cases, the deck is stacked against him.

The list of things he can do for himself may never be as long as the other, but every one of those things on his can do list is something to be proud of, and I assure you, I am. I make sure he knows I’m proud of him and that’s a good feeling for all involved. ☺