Rachel Loves To Climb!

A friend here in town has created a group that gets together to teach rock climbing to children with disabilities.  I have known about the program for a couple of years, but had never considered it since Rachel would not even attempt to climb the small rock climbing wall at gymnastics.  That is until just a couple of weeks ago when she went to the wall and climbed to the top!  Just after this, my friend, Barb, emailed me and asked us if we wanted to give rock climbing a try.  Perfect timing!  I told her that I thought Rachel would enjoy it and I would love to see what she would do.  So one Saturday, recently, we headed out to the local rock climbing gym and let Rachel give it a try.

Here Rachel gets hooked up to the lines. 

 

 Finally it is time to give it a try.  She was quick to get started. 

After a quick start though, she was not too sure this was going to be a fun as it looked.  The steps could get pretty far apart and she had to struggle to reach some of them.  She needed a lot of encouragement from the volunteers and a few reassuring looks from mommy. 

In the end, she made it to the top!!  Way to go Rachel!!!  She has talked about rock climbing ever since.   

This past Saturday, we were able to get back to the gym and let her go again.  She really seems to enjoy it, even though it takes quite some time to get her to the top.  The volunteers deserve lots of praise and credit for their ability to encourage and refocus Rachel.  They are wonderful and their patience is to be admired.  Thanks, Barb and Andrew,  for giving Rachel the opportunity to learn something new and have fun while doing it and for helping her build selfconfidence!