Oh boy. Sarah is really coming to life. She is becoming quite opinionated and vocal. As she does not speak, her opinions come out as shrieks. What fun!!!!! It's like the final veil that has been draped over her face has lifted off and she now knows all. Or at least she thinks she does! And she is going to tell me about it. Whether I like it or not.
I haven't decided on my course of action, but there has to be one or I won't be able to take her anywhere. She gets annoyed and irritable and things better go her way or the highway. If I wasn't dealing with a 70 pound child crying and thrashing in the middle of a store while sliding herself OUT of the wheelchair and onto the floor, it would be something to rejoice about. Sarah cares enough to communicate! Woohoo! OMG.
Yesterday, in the middle of the grocery store, she decided to carry on and on, crying and being irritable. I asked her by flashcards if she wanted to be IN the store and she answered 'yes' but would not stop the behavior. So, I proceeded to matter-of-factly wheel her out of the store and she became furious. A full blown tantrum all the way across the parking lot. I plonked her in the car and sternly told her this behavior was not going to fly. Boy, was she mad! Tears, red face, gasping for breath, the works. The drama! Sarah has met her match in me as I have never had any trouble disciplining my children. They learned who was the boss very quickly.
However, with Sarah, it's a fine line. I want her to express her desires, needs, preferences. I want her to care enough to make the effort. I don't want to shut her down, make her crawl back under that veil that she has now finally emerged from. It is a good thing. But she is going overboard right now. The pendulum has swung too far the other way. I guess that is to be expected. She is practicing a new skill. Maybe in time it will settle down. But in the meantime...uggh.
So I am going to give this some thought and come up with a fabulous, marvelous, ingenious, effective plan so that Sarah and I can live peacefully in the same house.
Ha!!
