Breakthrough

When Jack was an infant his (Occupational Therapist) OT would tell me that children with Down's Syndrome have learning plateaus. All the sudden you'll see a ton happen in a short period of time, then they plateau and ya never know how long that will last. Well for me (being who I am) I don't like the word plateau because in my opinion it means nothing is happening...In the stock market if a company plateaus they are just doing their best to survive. For Jackson he doesn't plateau (in that sense) I call it observation mode. I don't ever know how long his observation mode will last, sometimes it's a couple of weeks, sometimes 6 months or even longer. Needless to say it's a patience builder!! My expectations for his achievements have not changed, I just know that they will be in his time as he sees fit all I can do is wait and marvel in celebration once he accomplishes something (anything).

With that said I will share what happened yesterday. Last night as we were preparing for bed Jack asked for his hair to be cut. The words were a little garbled so it was not completely clear, but wasn't sure if he said what I thought he said. However, once I looked at his hands, I realized that he wanted his hair cut. HE WANTED his hair cut!! You have no idea how big this is!!! Since Jackson was about 6 months old I have been cutting his hair, well more like buzzing his hair. He's a high and tight kinda kid, I find that it doesn't exasperate his features as much, plus he's very warm natured and he would be dripping in sweat if his hair were long (more than an inch). EVERY time we cut his hair it was utterly draining! Once he was able to sit in his bumbo chair (around 15 months old) he would scream bloody murder, cover his head with his arms, and wiggle around. This haircut would last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes that should only take at most 10 minutes. I would dread cutting his hair trying to hold his arms and use the clippers. Not to mention trying to get close around his ears. I always got it done, but knew it would be only too soon before I would have to cut it again.

As Jackson has aged it has not gotten much easier. Though now he sits on a bar stool and can watch tv, the mere vibration on his head just sends him through the roof. His hypersensitivity issues go into full effect and he is crying and screaming, holding his ears, telling me he's done and almost to the point of hyper-ventilation. I try to cut his hair about every couple of months (maybe 4-6 weeks). The first haircut of this summer was not so bad, the crying and screaming had subsided, but the arms were still causing trouble along with the constant  "done momma" after every blade change. I was hoping to go another couple of weeks (right before school started) to cut his hair, but last night after playing around with his siblings Jack wanted his hair cut...maybe because he was tired of sweating??? I have no idea what spurred it on. Since it was late, I told him we would cut his hair tomorrow....after a battle of  Jack:"haircut", Me "no, tomorrow," I finally won. So this morning I asked if he still wanted his haircut and he said yes. I had no expectations in this venture. I assumed he would do the same old thing even though he wanted it. So I moved the barstool close to the TV so he could watch while I cut. I put the cape around him so the hair would not get all over him (another thing that sends him into a tail spin), and began to cut. Though around the ears was a little difficult, we managed to finish his hair in under 10 minutes, no tears, no screaming (by either party). He then preceeded to show Zachary his haircut and wanted to show his papa but he was at work. He took a shower (which is one of his favorite things to do)....and all is well in Jackson's world!!

Amazing breakthrough! Now it may not have been amazing for any other typical kid, but when you go through several years of struggling and all of the sudden the struggle is gone you can't help but celebrate!! Not only did he want his hair cut, he was able to express through WORDS and hand signals what he wanted! I'm so proud of my little man and so thankful for him. It is through him I am able to appreciate the little moments that I would not have been queued to see if it were not for him.

We have definitely been in observation mode the past 6 years with this particular event. He's watched both brother and father get their hair cut and watched how they acted and what they did and finally decided he could do that too!