I often worry about Eddie and his other two siblings and what their relationship will be like. To date, he shows little interest in them and often irritation at their efforts to include him. When talked to, he often says “goodbye” or covers his ears and drowns out their voices. As a result of his quick irritation, he always prefers to be in his room by himself than with the rest of the family. During any group activity, including meals, he finds the quickest escape route and makes his exit.
Today was a pleasant deviation from most nights. My oldest, Molly, needed to get in some reading time for school. Instead of finding a quiet place for her to read to me in seclusion, I decided to have her read to me in Eddie’s room. As usual, he was in there, and I simply hate seeing him spend all night alone. Molly was up for it, so we made ourselves at home lying on Eddie’s bed while he sat on the floor in a beanbag chair.
After Molly started reading, Eddie slowly moved closer to us until he was up on the bed. He perched himself on the edge and bounced to the rhythm of the book she read. Luckily, it had a very steady verse that made for a great beat. Not one time did Eddie say goodbye or try to escape. He was enjoying the reading as much as we were. To my amazement, Molly began verbally describing the pictures. She turned to me and said, “Mom, I have to do that part for Eddie.”
I practically burst into tears. I was so proud of her for recognizing the adaptation Eddie needed for the story and for automatically giving him that information. Even though Eddie probably wasn’t really following the story, she was trying to make it meaningful for him. That is a simple point I try to make with everyone in Eddie’s life; adapt activities so they are meaningful. I guess Molly is one gal that I won’t have to teach that to, because she was perceptive enough to pick it up herself.
After she was done reading, she asked if we could all play “band”. She told me that Eddie would play the keyboard, she would play the guitar, and I could play the bongos. Yes, all these instruments are set-up in Eddie’s room, along with some other ones. What can I say, he loves music! Anyway, we all grabbed an instrument and “jammed.” I tried to stay with Eddie’s awesome rhythmic beat and Molly did her own thing and we had a bonafide rock band. What a great way to end the day; a Coleman family jam session. Today rocked!