Daughter is a fabulous girl. She is 16 years old, loves boys and Hannah Montana. She also has Down syndrome. The hormones, emotions, and body of a teenager with some limitations in understanding abstract concepts. Because she is easily manipulated by others, she is categorized as severely retarded. This makes it difficult at times to parent, because I want to help her develop her own sense of self, while assisting her in developing social skills that will allow her to maintain relationships with other people. Some of the social skills that I tend to nag on are chewing with her mouth open, or constantly running her fingers through her hair, or sending her back upstairs to change when I don't like her chosen outfit. Stupid, small things that can really put some tension in our relationship.
I don't think there is anything with encouraging daughter to develop positive social skills. But, as husband says, not every moment has to be a teachable moment. Just enjoy time with her! And I have been failing to just enjoy daughter for who she is. So, for the next ten days (and I'm trusting my readers not to tell her :-) daughter gets a "free pass." I am not allowed to nag her. If I think that she needs a reminder or prompt, I must ask husband or teenager to do it. Let's see how it goes.
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I am very excited for this one! Not only just to see what will happen during the 10 days, but what will happen after the 11th :) Perhaps a new understanding? Only time will tell!
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