A little more part II.......

Oh dear - he's got that look again...........

I remember one night about 9 years ago now, Brandon was 6 years old and the batteries in his "Kermit" were dying and Kermit was talking very slow. Brandon had a fit - tears were pouring from his eyes and he was "scream crying", usual behavior when something quit working. I decided right then that I was NOT going to let "batteries" control my life any longer. I stood there with the screw driver in one hand and batteries in the other and I looked him straight in the eye and told him to stop crying and I would fix it for him. Well, obviously this didn't work on the first take - that would have been a divine miracle - however, I held my ground and eventually he stopped crying and I changed the batteries for him. I continued this lesson religiously and one day he handed me Kermit and I asked him if it needed batteries and he shook his head "yes". I was busy so, I told him to set it on the counter and I will do it in a minute and he sat it down and walked away - no crying - no screaming - he understood.

We began to use this "exercise" in many different situations that needed to be addressed and I know it has helped him to be more open to change, become more patient and helped him to learn and understand better. The most important thing is that we make sure we follow through with what we tell him but then again, don't you expect that from others? It wasn't always easy, this exercise was trying on both of us but it's calmed him down, taught him patience and helped his brain to learn a different behavior. Perserverence is the key.

Brandon has come so far in the past 9 years and he continues to grow and learn every day. This year he competed in "Special Olympics" through school - bowling and basketball (individual skills class). He absolutely loved it and believe it or not, he's pretty good at shooting baskets! He took the bronze in the Bremerton Tournament for scoring the most points in his age group.

I must admit that once you experience these kids competing in special olympics athletics, you realize that they are capable of so much more than you ever knew possible.........what a great program.

Brandon out -


Pack The Gym Night at Sumner High School
He shoots and he scores!!