Starfish Dreams

One of the bath toys we have has a starfish with a water wheel in it and a hollow shell. For weeks at bath time I've been showing Connor how to fill the shell with water and empty it into the starfish to make the wheel turn.

At first he just stuck his finger into the starfish to make the wheel spin. Then he started to put the shell up to the starfish but with no water in it. That's where things seemed to stall. He just didn't seem to get the idea that the water needed refilling.

Yesterday I took Merryn out of the bath first then came back a few minutes later for Connor. I could hear him splashing and playing, he just loves water. I walked in just in time to see him fill the shell and pour the water into the starfish. I was so proud!

I've seen him learn things like this before. You think he's not getting it or paying attention but then suddenly it all clicks. Maybe it's just because he can't tell me what he's thinking, but these things really do seem to come out of the blue.

More than that though it's about hope. At this age his Dr's and therapists have no real idea what his potential is. His level of retardation and his IQ could be mildly or profoundly impacted or somewhere in between. That moment in the bathtub, with a starfish, gave me hope that he might be ok. That he might go to a normal school and get a job and even marry one day. All the things mums always wish for their kids but which isn't a given for FXS kids.