The year of the notes?

I believe I have some new competition in the writing field. It appears a new Shakespeare has emerged in the form of a 16 year old girl with down syndrome. This young lady lives in my house and doubles as my daughter. Her name is Alex; she has been authoring note, after note, after note. How very extraordinary.

I am not sure why this prose ambition has arisen. My initial thought is Alex is emulating me; she knows I write almost every day and enjoy my journalism efforts. That is most likely not the case and I am giving myself way too much credit. But, something must have happened to trigger this dormant desire. I do not know what this could be and I am curious. I should get to the bottom of this, or perhaps it will remain a mystery.

This is a new area of growth for Alex; she is confident and proud of her letters, and I love it. To me, writing is such a great way to communicate. It is editable, erasable and polite. To be able to communicate effectively verbally, and in written form, is a skill she will need to succeed in her adult life. In Alex's case, her recent communiqués have also been very self serving.

Here is an example of Alex’s latest correspondence, presented to me with pride and much anticipation:

Hi Mom - Alex wants this laptop on her birthday in June 19. Whats up to you. I let you think about it. She wants this so much. I want bowling party. What day and time. I let you find for me. Any day any time works for me. You set it up, fine by me. I love Mom, Alex B.

Although Alex did mix up her pronouns a bit, which is currently one of her IEP goals; she still communicated her desires and thoughts in a clear and logical fashion. I hear loud and clear that Alex wants a laptop and a bowling party for her birthday. She loves me too!

As an aside, Alex had a very successful bowling party for her 16th birthday. All of her favorite people attended, and she got lots of presents. At least I know where this request originated.

For this note, Alex printed out a picture of a laptop from the computer, and created stationary with a laptop letterhead. I am very impressed; Alex is almost as good as me on the computer. Perhaps this educational growth and behavior should be rewarded. Dear family members, here is my overt request to get Alex a computer for her birthday.

I am quite proud of Alex for this accomplishment. It is another example of what we call the mountaineering phase of her development. Valley, plateaus and mountains, today we are climbing...Go Alex!