Will he live? Will he breathe? Will his kidneys work? Will his heart work? Will he transition from tube feedings to a bottle? Will he come home? Will he talk? Will he talk in a flow or always talk robotically? Will he comprehend? Will he connect with the world around? Will he understand relationships? Will he be able to write without my hand guiding his? Will he read? Will he be able to play sports? Will he be able to learn his times tables to know math for equipping for life? Will he always be filled with so much anxiety? Will he understand emotions, feelings? Will he be able to articulate his own needs? Will he be able to recognize and reach out to the needs of others? Will he have relationships and a relationship with Jesus?
I could go on…. this is just a tiny glimpse into the things that took TIME. Not only TIME, but most things learned in very “special” ways, out of the box, not typical, tapping into Isaac’s way.
This is exciting! As we ventured into the world of drawing again this week. The great hurdles to cross in his ability to draw, aren’t just about creativity, much much more, including planning, and spatial awareness. To look at a piece of paper and “visualize” where to begin – assessing the space around in relation to what he wants to achieve, how big, in itself is a GIGANTIC challenge. As with a zillion other challenges he has faced, we have found METHODS, STRATEGIES, SYSTEMS that we formulate and drill him, and talk him through over and over until it is solidified to the point of now “seemingly a natural flow”. We are now using this strategy to help Isaac draw.
THE RULER! First we had to cross the hurdle of comprehending the bigger aspect of the ruler to the smaller pieces within and how they work together and relate. Now that he has that concept mastered (which by the way this BIG picture to smaller pieces is a part of our everyday processing in relating to life), the ruler plays a HUGE part in him being able to draw. Once he determines a line to draw. His brain cannot visualize the imaginary line and how far it should run. Without a ruler and planning out in increments ahead of time, he would draw a line that would go on continuously or until it runs off the page. Then he would look and SEE in frustration, “that’s not right”. With the ruler he can lay it down first, and SEE that line, examine, and determine how far it should run, before drawing it. This week the LORD just showed me how I need to use a system of QUESTIONS to help him prepare, plan, process. I just asked the questions. And taught him how to make dots and increment out and visualize with the ruler. Really, I only needed to get him started and he was able to draw these pictures all on his own with wonderful step by step programs I found online. (the BB8 which was circles we had to tackle on a bit different approach-but still with ruler to visualize where he was going) He then “seeing”, what to do. And he erased a lot, and persevered on.
This is SO beautiful. I am encouraged, because every single detail of his life that we have handled in a similar manner with a process, system, has brought help, order, and often eventually a natural flow and great ABILITY in places that were so very stuck. God is soooooo very good.
I consider myself so very simple, and yet, God blesses me again and again with insight and wisdom to help my boy go further.
God is faithful. God is Love.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… be the glory” Eph. 3:20
ART BY ISAAC:
