Oh heck he TRIES SO HARD (mostly!).
He WANTS to make the word come out of his mouth.
He TRIES to get the sounds in the right spots.
(crying....just so close to my heart....)
BUT. HIS. BRAIN. WILL. JUST. NOT. COOPERATE.
I TRULY TRULY TRULY think it WILL someday.
I am not giving up on that hope because it feels very "do-able" for Tye to EVENTUALLY read.
Until then...
Well....Repetition and Patience are called for.
Thank you for your offers of help in my last post...I have looked in "LearningRX" and have a call into them.
We will FIGHT for our boy.
We will be PATIENT for this boy (even if it means we go scream in another room where he cannot hear it)
We WILL persevere for this child that has Divine Plans set before him.
We will NOT let him down by giving up.
NOPE.
Everyone has issues they deal with that are HARD, CONFUSING, UPSETTING, HEART-BREAKING.
So.
The Pity Party Stops Here.
And we continue to pursue every thing available to our precious son....our son that we did not know until he was 2.25 yrs old but who is engrained into the fibers of our heart as if we have him since the beginning of time....
There is definitely an element of society that says "Just let him be...He won't really know the difference and everyone will understand because he is adopted."
That element of society can kiss my ... yep.
And after that they can watch us love this child of OURS and FIGHT for this child of OURS .... and when he reads, when he drives, when he succeeds in his educational career, and when he rocks this WORLD....
Well...that element of society, even though they will never verbally admit to being wrong, can at least SILENTLY acknowledge that they didn't understand the POWER of LOVE between a PARENT and a CHILD....not matter HOW the PARENT and the CHILD came together
So.
Let's keep squeezing those sounds together Tye....
We are GOING TO HIT THIS OUT OF THE PARK...
Eventually.
Even if it hurts, is sad, is frustrating....OUT.OF.THE.PARK.
Your Momma, Your Teacher
Andrea
7 PLEASE give your thoughts! Click to comment!:
Hi There,
Posted awhile back regarding the Jewish Feasts. I have been reading about Tye and have a suggestion. My background is 20 yrs of teaching spec. ed. in the public schools before homeschooling my children. I have extensive training in deaf ed. and well as learning disabilities. Have you considered teaching Tye sign language? Hear me out before you make a decision. The only way a teacher knows how well a student reads is to have the child read aloud. Adults rarely read aloud for comprehension. What you want is for Tye to pick up printed material, read it, and understand it. With his speech and language delays there will be a struggle, but he cannot get meaning from the sounds of letters if he cannot produce the sounds. Hence "sounding out" words is difficult. With a child with severe speech issues, teaching the words, combined with signs, has been studied and shown to be very effective. The use of sign with sight words is effective even with kiddos without learning problems. Signed English is similar to American Sign Language, but it does not have the grammar difficulties that result in problems with writing. There are signs for word endings that help with writing. Now I am not saying to throw out speech. Use speech along with sign. When Tye reads to you, he can sign the words so that YOU know he is reading. You can check for comprehension by asking questions and he can answer you with his words OR, if he gets stuck, he can sign a word or two along with saying it. I taught all of my children sign language as infants. They were signing long before they could talk and we did not have the tantrums that go along with the frustration of not being able to communicate. Signing is a communication tool. He may not use it all the time, but it is there when he needs it and you can document his learning. Start with the Fry Sight word list (it goes to 1000 and you can find it online). Signed English materials can be purchased online. Gaulladet Univ. in Washington DC has lots of materials. Take the speech component out of reading and Tye can concentrate on meaning, which is what reading is all about. The speech will develop apart from reading. Blessings to you.
Thank you for working so hard with Tye Andrea. His progress is amazing with you steady love and guidance.
Jim
Hi Andrea and Tye,
Hang in there and I'm sure Tye will get there...you're so right Andrea not to give up, keep persevering and working on it.
Praying for lots of progress this year:)
Thanks for sharing.
Anna xx
Your video of Tye's struggle is so touching. Your gentleness, love, determination, perseverance, and patience with Tye all shine through.
I was thinking that this video might really be a valuable tool for you.
In our public school system in TN, we have reading specialists, and speech and language specialists.
I do remember from my time in public schools that at the least, the speech and language services are legally supposed to be available to all kids, regardless of whether the kids are public schooled or home schooled.
Have you ever/would you ever consider showing your video to a special ed professional and see what recommendations they might have?
(You may have already done this. Please disregard if I don't know what the heck I'm talking about, because, well, I DON'T know actually, the specifics of all the areas where you have been seeking out help for Tye.)
From reading this post and the last post it sounds like you have had him tested and have a diagnosis (expressive/receptive language delay) in his areas of deficiency, which is great. I just wondered if they had any other specific suggestions for teaching a child with expressive/receptive language delay. Ideas/strategies that might be new, or that might be something that you might not yet have heard of.
I saw where you are checking in to a new homeschool curriculum, and so perhaps they will have some ideas that will help things really begin to come together for your sweet Tye. Bless his heart! Bless your heart, as you persevere with your wonderful son. I don't want to see either one of you burn out. He is a beautiful boy, Andrea.
I just wanted to say that everyone needs someone who won't give up on him/her. Despite the difficulty, despite those "brick walls", and despite the lack of progress sometimes how amazing it is to have someone in your corner who is committed to cheering you on and simply being present in your life regardless to the successes or failures. In hearing you speak of your little boy my heart swells with gratitude towards you and your family in giving Tye something some people search a lifetime to find. That unconditional love and support will go a long way in your son's life. Anyway, I just wanted to commend your parenting. I think you guys "get it" and I'm convinced that God is super proud in that you emulate his character in this matter. Kudos to you friend! :)
Way to go Momma! I wish every child had as dedicated of a caregiver as Tye!!! I have a feeling there will come a time when everything just speeds up rapidly and you and Jim will be left in awe at how it all clicks and the heights to which Tye will reach! And I bet he will be a great teacher/encourager to children who struggle...ministering to them like others cannot.
THANK you for the suggestions and the encouragement.
My Anonymous Jewish-Expert Friend (smile) - I have taken your words and suggestions and changed some of the ways I am teaching Tye.
Happily, as you said, he CAN pick out the words by SIGHT much better than I knew.
I am continuing to sift through your ideas.
Please feel free to give me ANYTHING else you may think of...even though you have provided so much already.
The video showed me "patient" and I can say I am "patient" in front of Tye most of the time....but when he is not around I definitely vent to Jim or another special needs Mom.
I have to remember he did not ask for this....and support him as he grapples his way through his struggles.
Thanks again -
Andrea
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