Balance

Wow! I didn't realize it's been so long since I posted! Ooops! Just been busy with the holidays.

Last night Jonathon was getting ready for his bath when he made a request. I don't remember his exact wording, but his request was something like,  I like that t.v and vcr in my bedroom. I responded "you want a t.v. and vcr in your bedroom?" "Yep." "Why?" "Because I like that t.v, vcr. You and Daddy Tim have a t.v., vcr in your bedroom." "Yes, we do. You think you need one in yours?" "Yep."

Here's the dilemma... he is 21 years old now, so as an adult he has a right to make that request. My concern is developmentally he is around five years old and I'm afraid he would be up in the middle of the night watching movies. He already has sleeping difficulties. I am leaning toward letting him have it because he is an adult, and the autism has taken away his ability to make so many other decisions regarding his life. Plus, for him to realize he has a "want" and to voice that desire to me is HUGE PROGRESS! Out of the blue he made this request and I don't think it's an unreasonable request. By letting him have it, it will put more on Tim and I. We will have to monitor his use, both in the day and the night. During the day, I could see him camping out in his room never to be seen and, at night when he's restless, I could see him staying up all night watching t.v. instead of getting back to sleep.  I guess it all boils down to structuring the use of the equipment, setting expectations up front and enforcing them. His birthday is in March so maybe that's what we will get him for his b-day gift. That gives me a couple months to think about how to structure this so he can have what he wants and be successful in using it.