Ella will be attending MDA Camp for the second summer in a row this summer! Last year she was hesitant to go because she didn't want to leave mommy and daddy for a whole week. She had a couple rough nights in the beginning but soon got over her fear. This year...she's ready!
Just recently, we got an email from one of the lead counselors of the MDA Camp asking us to share Ella's dreams. This is something they do every year to get to know the kids as well as encourage their dreams.
Ella has many dreams for herself. She wants to be a singer, she wants to walk, she wants to be independent, she wants to get married and have kids, and more. I had a whole list of ideas to share with the counselor but had to chose only one of them.
I decided to go with Ella's dream of getting married and having kids. Ella loves weddings; as we went to one over this weekend. She was so enamored with the bride, her dress, and what it meant to be a bride.
Right now, however, Ella is all about her friends. She wakes up in the morning and tells me she has to be at a certain friend's house at a certain time. She does this so she doesn't have to worry about ringing the doorbell which might be out of her reach...if her friend is expecting her at a certain time then they'll be watching out for her. So far, she's been right on time--every time.
She often spends the day away from home. She has a Gizmo which is a little watch-like device that acts as a phone. She calls me every time she is going to do something new or go visit another friend. When she needs to use the bathroom she races home in her power wheelchair and let's me know she needs to use it...and I take her. During that bathroom time she tells me everything she and her friend(s) are doing. She is really polishing her social skills.
Yes, one of Ella's dreams is to get married and have children. The social skills that she is developing are all important to that end. She has to find ways for people to look past her disability and see her for who she is as a person. She needs to learn how to advocate for herself as she won't always have mommy and daddy to help. She needs to learn how to take disappointment well, so that it doesn't slide into her disability...where she could use her disability for blame. As she grows, so do her social skills.
Ella loves children. She is willing to play with any aged kids in the neighborhood. Each day she finds herself with different aged playmates. And she adjusts herself to that age. When with the younger kids she becomes their mother, taking care of them and teaching them things. When she's with same-aged friends, she adjusts herself to be present just as she is. When playing with older kids, she once more adjusts herself to communicate with them at their level. And when she's with adults she turns on her humor and polishes her sarcasm!
Just recently, we got an email from one of the lead counselors of the MDA Camp asking us to share Ella's dreams. This is something they do every year to get to know the kids as well as encourage their dreams.
Ella has many dreams for herself. She wants to be a singer, she wants to walk, she wants to be independent, she wants to get married and have kids, and more. I had a whole list of ideas to share with the counselor but had to chose only one of them.
I decided to go with Ella's dream of getting married and having kids. Ella loves weddings; as we went to one over this weekend. She was so enamored with the bride, her dress, and what it meant to be a bride.
Right now, however, Ella is all about her friends. She wakes up in the morning and tells me she has to be at a certain friend's house at a certain time. She does this so she doesn't have to worry about ringing the doorbell which might be out of her reach...if her friend is expecting her at a certain time then they'll be watching out for her. So far, she's been right on time--every time.
She often spends the day away from home. She has a Gizmo which is a little watch-like device that acts as a phone. She calls me every time she is going to do something new or go visit another friend. When she needs to use the bathroom she races home in her power wheelchair and let's me know she needs to use it...and I take her. During that bathroom time she tells me everything she and her friend(s) are doing. She is really polishing her social skills.
Yes, one of Ella's dreams is to get married and have children. The social skills that she is developing are all important to that end. She has to find ways for people to look past her disability and see her for who she is as a person. She needs to learn how to advocate for herself as she won't always have mommy and daddy to help. She needs to learn how to take disappointment well, so that it doesn't slide into her disability...where she could use her disability for blame. As she grows, so do her social skills.
Ella loves children. She is willing to play with any aged kids in the neighborhood. Each day she finds herself with different aged playmates. And she adjusts herself to that age. When with the younger kids she becomes their mother, taking care of them and teaching them things. When she's with same-aged friends, she adjusts herself to be present just as she is. When playing with older kids, she once more adjusts herself to communicate with them at their level. And when she's with adults she turns on her humor and polishes her sarcasm!
Ella may or may not get married and have children. But whatever she does she will continue to chase her dreams, even if that means chasing them down in a 400lb power wheelchair.
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| Ella at a friend's wedding (June, 2019) |
