The Brain Game
This is not a How to, what to wear, check this out or DIY...
This is simply me... me telling you, my dear readers about our journey that has now been officially labeled. I'm talking about that one fearmost parents a few parents go through. "Is something wrong with my child"?
Our journey starts way back in 2008, my first physical baby was born. With concerns leading up to her arrival, we knew that she was going to be special. After our little Thai was born, we suffered great pain, concern and angst. She was born with several heart defects that caused her to desat not once but twice. She was rushed to the NICU where she stayed for a month. I honestly don't remember that day. I just remember the Dr. coming in and saying a bunch of words that my drugged body concluded in a result that she had passed. Thankfully it was the drugs in this case lol( not illegal btw).
The next day was also kind of a blur, until I finally was able to see her. She laid sweetly in her incubator connected to tons of tubes and machines. And the scariest one of all, a feeding tube. All I could do was pray that she would be ok and frantically ask around if I could hold her.
Long story short, after she was released we would continue to fight one battle after another. From feeding issues to nose issues and multiple surgeries, 3 things were certain, she would struggle with her development, she was a fighter and we were blessed!
As Thai turned one, I could start to tell that something was not right. She wouldn't interact with certain shows like other kids would. Even if she loved it, she would just stare or dance to the music. She wouldn't "answer" them or point or anything of that nature. Just stare. My husband would always say things like "she is too little" or "you're crazy, she is fine". But I just had a feeling that maybe she just didn't understand.
Once she hit the school age, we noticed that the friends she would meet at the play area or library were always younger than her. She would never really engage with kids her age or older, mostly babies and toddlers. So, I thought maybe I should introduce her to things that were maybe a little more advanced for age. Nothing. It was clear that Thai wasn't acting her age.. she was acting younger.
We noticed this behavior for a while and she really started struggling in kindergarten with just simple things. Not to mention the staff at that school was no help when it came to our concerns!I was constantly working with her at home and it would only end with her frustrated and in tears. Once she was in 1st grade we had moved to a top of the line school district where they truly cared. They quickly enrolled her in educational services and listened to all my concerns. We worked together for months to get her in testing so we could finally figure out what was going on in her precious little brain.
After a in-depth Google and Pinterest search (because pinterest is amazing), I found many different apps and activities I could do to try and supplement her learning while she was testing. We found a ton of different things we could do and one online program that really helped. It's called Moby Max, and it has been wonderful for us!
So fast forward to the present.. after testing all last year we finally got the results. Thailand has what they call "orthographic processing". Basically she processes things slower and in a certain way to where she will remember if a picture is used inside the word. Confused? Google Word World, its kind of like that lol.
SO, even though I treated her educational activities as if she actually did have a learning disability (as much as i tried to deny it) it is official. My child has a learning disability. So with hard work, a lot of repetition and crafty homework hacks this journey is not going to be easy peasy...
But Thai is a fighter!
to be continued.....
Does your child have a learning disability or someone you know? How do you make it work? Let me know in the comments below!
This is simply me... me telling you, my dear readers about our journey that has now been officially labeled. I'm talking about that one fear
Our journey starts way back in 2008, my first physical baby was born. With concerns leading up to her arrival, we knew that she was going to be special. After our little Thai was born, we suffered great pain, concern and angst. She was born with several heart defects that caused her to desat not once but twice. She was rushed to the NICU where she stayed for a month. I honestly don't remember that day. I just remember the Dr. coming in and saying a bunch of words that my drugged body concluded in a result that she had passed. Thankfully it was the drugs in this case lol( not illegal btw).
The next day was also kind of a blur, until I finally was able to see her. She laid sweetly in her incubator connected to tons of tubes and machines. And the scariest one of all, a feeding tube. All I could do was pray that she would be ok and frantically ask around if I could hold her.
Long story short, after she was released we would continue to fight one battle after another. From feeding issues to nose issues and multiple surgeries, 3 things were certain, she would struggle with her development, she was a fighter and we were blessed!
As Thai turned one, I could start to tell that something was not right. She wouldn't interact with certain shows like other kids would. Even if she loved it, she would just stare or dance to the music. She wouldn't "answer" them or point or anything of that nature. Just stare. My husband would always say things like "she is too little" or "you're crazy, she is fine". But I just had a feeling that maybe she just didn't understand.
Once she hit the school age, we noticed that the friends she would meet at the play area or library were always younger than her. She would never really engage with kids her age or older, mostly babies and toddlers. So, I thought maybe I should introduce her to things that were maybe a little more advanced for age. Nothing. It was clear that Thai wasn't acting her age.. she was acting younger.
We noticed this behavior for a while and she really started struggling in kindergarten with just simple things. Not to mention the staff at that school was no help when it came to our concerns!I was constantly working with her at home and it would only end with her frustrated and in tears. Once she was in 1st grade we had moved to a top of the line school district where they truly cared. They quickly enrolled her in educational services and listened to all my concerns. We worked together for months to get her in testing so we could finally figure out what was going on in her precious little brain.
After a in-depth Google and Pinterest search (because pinterest is amazing), I found many different apps and activities I could do to try and supplement her learning while she was testing. We found a ton of different things we could do and one online program that really helped. It's called Moby Max, and it has been wonderful for us!
So fast forward to the present.. after testing all last year we finally got the results. Thailand has what they call "orthographic processing". Basically she processes things slower and in a certain way to where she will remember if a picture is used inside the word. Confused? Google Word World, its kind of like that lol.
SO, even though I treated her educational activities as if she actually did have a learning disability (as much as i tried to deny it) it is official. My child has a learning disability. So with hard work, a lot of repetition and crafty homework hacks this journey is not going to be easy peasy...
But Thai is a fighter!
to be continued.....
Does your child have a learning disability or someone you know? How do you make it work? Let me know in the comments below!
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