You might remember this picture from a couple of weeks ago. Bless her heart. This is a classic picture of what her room looks like most of the time. She doesn't intend for it to look this way, but out of all the things we have tried ... we have yet to inspire her heart. She simply does not have the motivation to take care of her belongings. I have her room very organized, so it is not a matter of function, but one of fortitude. Until now, she has not had the inspiration to persevere in keeping her room clean.

Taken this morning: I hereby present, Princess and her clean room! She even made her bed after this picture. "What inspired the transformation?", you ask. Well, two words. CHAMP LADDER. We started the Champ Ladder yesterday and she is very excited to begin. The nice folks at The Champ Ladder suggest starting your child out in the middle of the ladder, at level 5. King and I prayed and talked about this and we wanted to inspire Princess and affirm who she is in our eyes. Thus, we started her out at the top of the ladder ... level 10! The basic premise of the Champ Ladder is to reward behavior with consequences, both positive and negative. Princess is in complete control of her privileges. I believe this system is so close to real life and will inspire her to do her best. We truly need her to care for her body in such a way that she prevents paralysis episodes instead of us trying to cope after she has had an episode. Thus, we have tailored the Ladder to her interests and needs. She will be rewarded for taking care of her body and doing all she can to prevent paralysis episodes as well as being rewarded for doing her homework on time, helping with dinner, caring for the dog, and keeping her room/bathroom clean and tidy.

We are all excited to start this trial week that began last night. We will take a week to try the system to work the bugs out and then it goes into full effect this Sunday.