Not to steal Jon’s thunder, but some backstory to the post below. I’m sure we’ve mentioned that Jon is generally wheeled from place-to-place by others. Mind you, in certain situations or environments he has shown that he will propel and steer himself. Situations like a noisy book launch when he suddenly and very accurately bolts for the door towards Queen Street West (bad), or environments like Mountain Co-Op, where he takes charge to wheel himself to the elevator (good). But generally, he is pushed.

At his last school assessment (an annual teacher/parent/vice-principal/visual consultant/sometimes physiotherapist get-together), it was decided that Jon’s vision and maturity have progressed to the point where he would benefit from “mobility training”. This will include all sorts of lessons about driving a wheelchair, including outside on the sidewalk. Big stuff. We signed some papers for his assessment and training.

From all reports–well, two, including Jon’s–trainer Pam showed up today, and started the process. He was exhausted at bedtime. Laura and I would love to know what happens in these sessions, but in a curious way we are delighted that we aren’t part of it at the moment. No doubt we will be in time.