Successful Reasoning

Brian has refused to take a bath or shower since his fall last Saturday.

Gross, huh?

But honestly, I felt this was a positive step.  He correlated his injury to the bath and he remembered it, therefore finally putting something into his brain under the category of "danger".  This kid still has no fear of vehicles, heights, or strangers.

Today, after him being sick all last night, I kept asking, "Are you ready for a bath?".  And I kept getting him screaming "NO" at me.

We were lying in bed and I whispered the request to him again.  He answered negatively and I watched his hand go up and faintly touch his stitches.

I kept my voice low and calm and said, "Brian you know it was slippery in the bathroom because you dumped shampoo & conditioner all over the floor, right?  When you dump out all the bottles onto the floor it makes it really slippery and that's why you fell.  If you go in and take a bath and don't dump the bottles out it won't be slippery."

He was quiet and I allowed the pause.

I then asked, "Do you understand what Mama said?"

And he said, as clear as day, "Yes".

I asked again, "Are you ready for a bath?".

He replied, "Yes."

And off he went to the bathroom.

Thank god, because he was starting to really stink.

I'm still amazed at what he does understand receptively when at other times he just seems to not understand a single word.  It's simple moments like these that make me push his educators and therapists.  He understands a whole lot more than he lets on.