I am so happy that Elizabeth is working and enjoying the world of “adulting”
I know she has the goals for herself to be the best adult she can be and as I always say, we are a work in progress. Which means that we are always working on goals and skills for her.
So for her work with the Gymsters’ program. She is paid by the number of classes she helps out in. This means that we are teaching Elizabeth that she is responsible for the keeping track of the number of classes. So we made a time sheet for her and as she comes in from the day at work, she writes the date and number of classes.
I like that the want to learn is there and that she is excited to keep learning and doing for herself. But it is work to teach the new skills but once learned, I like seeing her make the new habits.
Something else that we are working on is the ever-elusive thing called her BUDGET! Money and budgets have been something that have at times seemed to work well for her and at other times, seemed to vague of a concept and she did not want to work on it well. I think as she has matured and has seen the value of working and the resulting paycheck, she has increased her interest in the concept of money.
We have begun this by making a budget but kept is simple as in money in and money out. We added categories for what she used cash for and what she used her credit card for. Yes, she has a credit card with a 100.00 limit that we pay the balance on each week. She is also learning to keep all receipts and put them in a designated place for the month.
All this is written down for the week and she does the math which sometimes not met with happy thoughts. The goal of the budget is to teach Elizabeth that there are parameters for money that need to be kept in mind and that you want the money in to be greater than the money out.
We have learned in this journey with Elizabeth to make the concepts ones that have meaning and can be associated with something concrete to help them stick. Like just talking about a bank account doesn’t help things stick but talking about having enough money to buy the art supplies she wants does. And talking about the balance on the computer doesn’t help her as much as seeing the receipts for the things she bought and how that changes the total left.
So we took the good of the jobs she has and have been able to see that there are key life skills that can grow from her having the jobs.
The jobs themselves are helping her grow and the life skills associated with them give us a chance to teach her and help her learn more of the subtleties of what it means to have a job.
Each thing that Elizabeth does that keeps her going forward on her journey just fuels our belief in her.
Is it hard work? Yes!
Does she challenge us along the way? Oh Yes!
But is she worth every single moment of it all?
Absolutely!
I wish everyone a peaceful month!
Michele Gianetti
I Believe in You: A Mother and Daughter’s Special Journey
Elizabeth Believes in Herself: The Special Journey Continues
Emily’s Sister
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