A tiny triumph

Most days are a struggle for me. As a mom, I struggle with the day-to-day challenges a 6 month old can bring. But being a mother of a special needs child, I am also learning how to teach my son things that should come naturally, but don't. Sometimes I feel so helpless, and just when I think he is dragging behind, or like he'll never get it... he does something amazing. Today, was one of those days.

Elijah does not like to grab or hold onto anything. So I have been working intensively with him to try to peek his curiosity about objects. I dangle them in front of him and wait, but he never seems to respond. Today, I dangled a toy key ring in front of him and he stared at it blankly. When I put it on his tummy he picked it up and put it in his mouth. Now I know you may be thinking that it is a silly thing to get excited about, but it is the first time he has EVER grabbed anything. And I was honestly starting to give up hope about that.
What was neat is that I was trying to teach him to pick up things like we all do, with our index fingers. Because of a lack of wrist action, it is nearly impossible for him to do this. But, he DOES use his pinkey fingers as a thumb. It is the most fascinating thing to me, what a child can learn. And really, it taught me that he is going to do things his own way. And it may be different, but it works for him. This is his world, and I am the one who has to adapt, not him. I never knew that teaching him something would make ME learn something. And I just had to share this little triumph.