Thanks to The Gimp Parade for the link - (admittedly it was from an older blog post - way back on 8/1, oops).
But check out these photos from the 16th anniversary celebration of the ADA in New York City. The event was organized by the group Disabled in Action of Metro NY.
Seeing a scad of crips all in one place at once is pretty empowering. I have lots more to say, but work is calling at the moment....
What's it mean when the BIGGEST wish you have for your mobility-impaired child with CP is that he would just start pooping in the damn potty???!!!
I shouldn't complain. He has been doing really well - he sleeps all night without a pullup and waits to pee until about an hour after he gets up in the morning, he goes most days without wetting his pants (although it still requires vigilence on our part watching for "the potty dance"), he has about one accident a week at school/summer camp. It's so clearly a case of he CAN but chooses not to verbalize when he has to go. I mean, he has bladder control, really he does. Whether he exercises the option of going to the bathroom is another issue. We've done the gamut of responses - child-led, rewards, much cheering upon little successes, major disappointed sad-face reactions, treating it like "nada" and "ok, well, let's clean this up buddy"; none of it has worked.
So officially, today, we're treating it as a power struggle, one mamas are going to be "alpha" over to boot. He was warned repeatedly today that he'd be losing computer/Nintendo/TV priviledges if he peed on the rug or pooped in his pants. He was fine all day, Terry biked him over to the playground and back and he went to the bathroom upon return. Ten minutes later, he needed help getting into the computer chair - with a poopy-full pair of undies. Thus - privileges were removed - with much crying and sobbing ensuing.
He's a really easy kid to discipline in most cases - he's hyper-responsive to "looks" and to slightly raised voices. In this one arena though, he's trying to pull 6-year-old rank - and we've about had it :) I KNOW part of it has to do with the fact that he needs grown-up help to go to the bathroom - he can't undress and stand without help. And it takes a certain amount of time - so it's a significant break from whatever fun he's having. But too bad - we're just tired of cleaning poopy pants.
So - I'm thinking that's all it means - we're damn tired and frustrated - and it's really time to move on to another phase of parenting Toby's bodily functions. In the long run - he's not going to college in pull-ups - we know that - and he'll be a happily well-adjusted grownup who is loved and employed and all that good stuff. For now, we just want him to use the flipping bathroom, not his pants :) Like, 99% of the time, not just 90% of the time.
We don't want much, do we? !!!
