Sunday, September 18, 2011

Following Directions

We made cupcakes for our Girl Scout troop today since we've had three birthdays since we last met. Caleb wanted to help. Nikki decided she could muster the energy to scoop the batter (she caught a cold and is very near death). The process went something like this:

Caleb: I want to put the papers in the pan.
Me: Okay, just do one pan and then we'll see how many more we need.
Caleb: Okay (finishes one pan). I'm done! I'm going to mail the letter.
Me: Okay. It goes in the TOP SLOT. Way above our mailbox.
Caleb: Okay!
(two minutes later)
Caleb: Mom! I forgot the key!
Me: You don't need the key. You're mailing the letter, not getting the mail.
Caleb: NO! I need the key!
(Nikki explains one more time.)
Caleb: I'm back!
Me: Did you mail the letter?
Caleb: Yep!
(Note to self: check mail slot for letter.)
Me: We need some more wrappers in the cupcake pan. Would you like to help?
Caleb: Yes! Here you go, Nikki. (Deposits a pile of cupcake wrappers next to Nikki.)
Nikki: Caleb, I need them IN the pan.
Caleb: Okay. (Deposits pile back into original container.)
(Nikki winds up completing this task.)

Caleb's IEP is coming up on September 30. They want to exit him from the resource program because he reads at the 2nd- or 3rd-grade level. We're very excited about his progress with reading, but he still has an auditory processing disorder and skips 15 when he counts to 20. And then there's that "following directions" thing...