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On days when Brandon is home early enough that Elora can stay home with him rather than coming to therapy with us, Elora usually chooses to stay home. And I have learned that on those days, if I play like a mouse in the corner, I can go back and observe Kaylie's therapy without distracting her. And yesterday, it finally occurred to me to try getting a video of their session. The audio isn't the best, unfortunately, but you will definitely get a good idea of what they're doing for half an hour, three times a week. I couldn't get them to upload directly to Blogger, so I uploaded them to Photobucket instead. Here are the links:
Playing a Super Why game and playing with a princess castle set.
Reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Jennifer really is amazing with her! We hit the jackpot, when we were assigned to Jennifer. I could not have chosen a better therapist, or a better match for Kaylie, if I had personally interviewed and hand-picked someone for the job.
I meant to comment awhile ago, but I forgot. First, I had major speech issues until 3rd grade. I didn't talk until 3.5 and then I had pronunciation issues that required me to see a therapist until 3rd grade.
ReplyDeleteI still have a hard time finding the right words that I want to use. It's easier to write, but even then, just organizing what I want to say (and without people taking this out of context) can be difficult. I'm not quick with comebacks during arguments and if I'm talking fast, I accidentally mispronounce my Rs even to this day! However, speech therapy also helped me be in control of my mouth and I have always been praised for my excellent accent when speaking in spanish. So there are some pros! :-)
I'm a bit sensitive to these types of things. School never came as easy to me as the other kids who made straight As. I mean, I still made good grades, but it took me longer to grasp concepts and I had to study harder. Josh could read a word one time and know how to spell it. It took lots of repetition for me. But all of this effort and struggle also has made me resilient and motivated. I don't give up and I get through tough times when others quit. I have plenty of flaws (I'm stubborn as hell), but I'm loyal when it comes to goals. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you give up the moment a wrinkle appears, it is a major flaw.
I'm betting K will have that determination and motivated as well. I can only imagine how hurtful and annoying it is when people brag about how smart their child is based on advanced verbal skills. It still digs at me since I was one of those struggling kids. Anyhow, good job with your attitude and hard work with K. I'm so proud that you aren't hiding or ashamed :-)
I never realized! I now have even greater respect for your accomplishments, seriously, you are one heck of a lady. :) The more I share about this, the more I am finding that there are lots of other people with similar issues. I often feel saddened that she has this difficulty to overcome, because I know that things will be more difficult for her, especially compared to her sister. (Not that I'm measuring one against the other, but I know that Kaylie will see Elora saling through school with hardly any effort, and will probably be frustrated by it, at the very least.) And I feel daunted by the prospect of helping her through this process... It is very reassuring to hear from other adults who have already dealt with it, and from other parents who are helping their own children through the same ( or similar) things. The sense of community, and the support I'm getting from it, is amazing. So thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind, thank you dear! You're doing exactly what she needs. For me, my struggles helped me try harder since I wanted to be as smart as my brother. I wasn't jealous of him, especially because his ease of school was detrimental in its own ways (he never had to study, which was fine until college). Keep doing your thing!
ReplyDelete-Rachel