08/14/2026
BIG Bennett update! 💙
We have some exciting things happening in Bennett’s world lately, and we are SO proud of him!
The biggest update—we are officially in a month-long trial with a POWER CHAIR! 🥹♿️ Bennett works with it twice a week during therapy, and he is doing AMAZING! He is catching on so fast, and his therapists are very excited about how well he’s doing with it.
Of course, our biggest hope is still to see Bennett walk one day. We will continue to push him, encourage him, and give him every opportunity to work toward that goal—and he will continue working SO hard to accomplish it. But we also don’t want to hold him back from the independence he can have right now while we work toward that goal. If a power chair gives Bennett the freedom to move around, explore, keep up with other kids, and be more independent, then we are going to give him what he needs. 💙 Walking will always be a goal, but so will giving him the fullest, most independent life possible along the way.
Another HUGE win has been his AAC device! Bennett is doing amazing with it and communicating with us more and more. We would love for him to be verbal one day and will continue working toward that, but for now, we will take communication however Bennett can give it to us!
And let me tell you… he has quickly learned that his AAC device can also be used to give everyone a piece of his mind. 😂 He can be a little sassy sometimes! He has told his therapists that he is “disappointed” in them for making him do things he doesn’t want to do. And after getting to play with six ducks during therapy, he made it VERY clear that next session he wants “11 ducks.” Not six. ELEVEN. 😂🦆 Apparently he has standards!
His personality has grown SO much over these last couple of months, and it has been one of the sweetest and funniest things to watch. Right now, one of our favorite things he does at therapy is when he sees one of his therapists coming toward him or talking to him. He’ll scrunch up his little nose, turn his head and try to hide—like if he can’t see them, then obviously they can’t see him either. 😂
He is definitely building such an amazing relationship with his therapists and has been enjoying his sessions so much lately. Seeing him comfortable enough to joke around, be sassy, show his personality and communicate what he does—and definitely DOES NOT—want makes my heart so happy. 💙
He also had the sweetest therapy day yesterday! He got to play with the most adorable miniature horse and the sweetest dog, and Bennett was giving them ALL the love. 🐴🐶💙
Even though he felt some type of way after the horse nudged him in the face trying to give him kisses. 😂 It hurt his little feelings, and after that he still wanted to play with her… he just wasn’t making contact with her anymore. 😂 He was basically like, we can still be friends, but from over here. He is SO funny and has such a big personality!
He’ll be starting school next week, too! 📚 He loved school so much last year, and we’re excited to get him back into his routine and see what this year brings for him.
Then, in just a few weeks, we’ll be heading back to South Carolina to pick up Bennett’s new KAFOs and AFOs, with a couple days of therapy squeezed in while we’re there!
It really feels like we’re entering such an exciting new chapter for Bennett—more communication, more mobility, more personality, and more independence. 🥹💙
There are still so many goals we’re working toward, and we’ll never stop pushing him to reach his fullest potential. But we’re also going to embrace every tool that gives him the ability to experience more of the world right now.
Keep going, Ben Ben. Keep working hard, keep showing everyone what you can do, keep being sassy…and hopefully somebody has 11 ducks ready for your next session. 😂🦆💙♿️
