If any of you ever get a wrapped “gift” package from Ricki, don’t get too excited. She is probably sending you a bundle of paper.
Many times Ricki gets in a generous mood, but she doesn’t want to give away her own property, and she usually doesn’t have a lot of cash on hand. Her solution? Make a nice sized package of newspaper! (And I can not even begin to explain the amount of scotch tape that she wastes on these concoctions….) And since her aide and classmates accept her offerings with an indulgent air, Ricki is unconvinced by my protestations that newspapers are unsuitable as a present.
I usually try to stop her mid-wrapping, to save on tape. In addition, I don’t want to let her make a fool of herself. But her friends and the aide don’t mind; I’m the one with the hang-up about her acting “not normal”. And sometimes I wonder if I should just loosen up a BIT and be a smidgen less concerned about her acting this way. If everyone else can gracefully accept that this is part of her disability, maybe I should too. (Although part of me counters, “inappropriate” is just that, and the right actions need to be learned. That is surely true. I guess what I have to strive for is to teach without getting upset over the existing reality.)
PS Regarding yesterday’s post: So far, 24 hours later, there were no takers. Is everyone waiting for next week? Or till after Pesach? Or was this a really bad idea? Feedback please!
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