Confidence. It’s knowing that you are capable of doing something – even if you haven’t done it before.
Confidence comes from competence. Many times we have the competence do to something but we’re not given the opportunity to show it.
How can we have an opportunity if we’re unable to communicate our desire? And how can we gain confidence in trying new things if we’re presumed to be unable to do them on our own?
There have been so many gifts that have come from Stone’s ability to communicate with us through Spelling these past 18 months but I think that seeing how much his confidence has soared over this time is one of the most gratifying of all.
He used to wonder if he’d be trapped in his mind forever, unable to show the world his incredible intelligence, words and personality. Now he’s looking for new ways to showcase his abilities – and revisit previous challenges and roadblocks.
We used to visit the Lynnwood Pool on a very frequent basis when the boys were younger. The indoor slides were a big hit with Ty – but Stone was too nervous to try them. But recently he started talking about them again and telling me he wanted to go back to the pool – and go down the slides himself.
So today we did go back – and Stone tackled the water slides again and again and again. No fewer than 30 times probably over the 2 hours we were there. He told me afterwards that he had “a blast” and can’t wait to go back.
Competence. Confidence. Communication. They are all connected in ways most of us never imagined.
