So where is Sarah, exactly, in her schooling?
She is kind of scattered about, working on a few different things at the same time. She likes it like that. It keeps her learning fresh and new. She does not do well going over the same things day after day. Can you say BORING?
I teach her at home with guidance and support from a fabulous teacher who specializes in Sarah's needs.
So one of the things I am to teach her this month is the name and sound of all the lower case letters of the alphabet. She reads using only uppercase ones right now. I am also helping her to make a choice from 4 words on a presentation board, for things she wants to do, eat or drink.
Easter seals has lent her something called a 'quicklook zoom' which is a mini computer that enlarges the words in any book/magazine or menu so she can read what has been written. She is legally blind and requires very large letters to read. I just run it over the printed words and the screen enlarges the words so she can see them. I can change the colors, the contrast, etc. It's wonderful and we are waiting for her school to purchase it for her. It's about the size of 2 decks of cards. It's a great way for her to get experience reading sentences. She loves it because she loves to read.
Sarah's eye contact is much better this past month. What a difference! And she has begun something interesting....when I speak face to face with her she opens and closes her jaw as if she wants to speak but no sound comes out. Now, she makes plenty of sounds and giggles on her own throughout the day, but they are not directed at me. This is directed at me. She gets that she needs to use her jaw to speak but can't get any further right now.
I am trying to teach Sarah to respond to "Hi Sarah" with a wave. Right now she reaches up to tap my outstretched hand, but I need to fade out my hand and have her just lift hers to the sound of "Hi Sarah".
I am teaching her auditory scanning. This is where I ask her a question and then slowly tick off the list of possible answers. When she hears the answer she wants she hits a switch that says 'Yes'. so for instance: "Sarah, what do you want to watch on tv?" She looks at me and I start naming her videos...."Barbie, Wizard of OZ, Sound of Music, Elmo, Princesses..." And she hits the switch when she hears the choice she wants. Cool, huh? We are working on that.
Sarah actually goes into the school once a week for 45 minutes. It is listed as OT, but really, it is for socialization with a typical peer. She loves her 'peer friend' and he loves his time with Sarah. She is learning to use a switch to signal her turn/his turn, she is learning to do activities with another child and she is learning to flirt. :) He enjoys watching how I interact with Sarah and then trying it out for himself. It is wonderful to see. Gains all around.
She is still riding once a week, even in this cold weather. I just bundle her up and off she goes. She is getting pretty daring on that horse! She does 2 handed activities without holding on as the horse goes round the ring and she stays up just fine. I hope she can ride for the rest of her life. It's a great stretch for those tight legs and a workout for those low tone trunk muscles.
There's a point I want to make, since it has just now come to mind and it is important. Sarah is 12 years old. Most of the time a child of Sarah's exceptional needs would have been given up on a few years ago. You know the saying-- that by a certain age the brain is done growing and that's all you can get from a child such as Sarah.
I can tell you that this is not true! Do not give up as a child approaches the teen years because it is quite possible that these older kids can learn a lot more. In fact, they might already know quite a bit that we aren't aware of, but the fact is, they can't show us what they know. It is our job to brainstorm and figure out ways for them to be able to show us what they know, what they can learn and what they have already learned. There's lots of eager learners inside these bodies that don't physically cooperate with their owners. Age is irrelevant. The older Sarah gets, the more she picks up steam, the faster she learns a concept, the more effective I have become in teaching her. There is no end point. The brain is a surprising thing. I believe it can learn for an entire lifetime if we feed it.
There, I am off my soapbox. But it's important. Don't write these kids off.
As usual, Sarah is always teaching me.
