IEPs and Standardized Testing

Just the title of this post makes me go GRRRRRRRRRR! How on earth is a person to develop something "individualized" from something "standard"? There is nothng NOTHING standard about my child. I would like to tell the government what they can do with their "standardized" testing. Gant was evaluated twice. Both results were pretty similar. He is labled as being "intellectually disabled". Polictically correct term for mentally retarded. I have news for the goverment and their tests - my child is the farthest thing possible from mentally retarded!! He is smart, he is intelligent, he is imaginitive, he is loving, and he is going to prove them wrong! In the mean time, I will focus on the positive side of this label. Because of it, he receives the maximum amount of help possible and will therefore overcome!

Titty

Ah, the fun of having a child with a speech disorder. You have to have a good sense of humor otherwise you may not make it. A somewhat stray cat has adopted mom and dad. Grant is intrigued by this cat. He is constantly looking for him ouside. He will stand out in the yard yelling "Oh TITTY TITTY, where are you?!? Here TITTY TITTY! EAT, TITTY TITTY?!?" Grant is so sweet and genuine when he talks about and to the cat, but I can't help but giggle a little when he says titty.

The Flash Strikes Again!

A few months ago, Danny, Justin, Maceo and Michelle played in a disc golf tournament at Chandler park in Tulsa. Kim, Grant and I tagged along. Before heading out to shop, we hung out at the park with the golfers for a bit and then headed to the nearby play ground to let Grant unwind a bit before the shopping began. Chandler park is a large park and was busy that day with cars, people and flying discs. Grant was the only child on the playground. Kim and I visited as he played. I looked up at one point to see him climbing on the fence. I told him to get down and kept talking to kim. A milisecond later, I looked back up to see Grant blazing a trail across the park. He had already run across a road and was darting out through the middle of the disc golf course. All I could picture in my mind was him getting knocked out cold by a disc or getting hit by a car. I took out after him yelling for him to stop. I heard one dad say "Man that kid needs to be the running back on a football team." I yelled at Grant again "William Grant, stop right now!" Evidently in Grantanese that means "kick it in overdrive" because he glanced over his shoulder at me and ran faster. Thankfully another man took mercy on this poor chunky momma and asked if I wanted him to stop him. I gasped "please". He was able to grab the hood of Grants jacket bringin him to a screaching halt. Needless to say, play time was over. Oh that boy!

My Super Hero

Here is my super hero.  He doesn't normally wear a cape and a mask.  He can not leap tall buildings in a single bound, no webs shoot from his wrists, he can't fly, but I think he is AMAZING!  Not too long ago, I was having a pitty party and wondering "Why, God? Why my child?"  I have often voiced this question out loud.  Then one day at work He spoke to me.  I was working on cases of children who had been neglected and/or abused.  God said to me, "You ask why Grant.  What do you think would happen if I had chosen one of these children instead?"  Wow!  It was then that I realized that Danny and I had been chosen for a most special mission - to do our best and be our best to be the parents and advocates this amazing little man deserves.  Why God chose me, I may never know.  I sit and watch Grant as he works so hard to do things and say things that come so naturally to the rest of us.  No matter how difficult the task, he presses on.  He is so determined to do what others do and communicate with other people.  If he is unable to say the words, he always finds another way to communicate his message.  Just this morning, we were outside, he was playing and I was sitting, enjoying the moment watching him.  He looked at me and said "Momma" and started beating his chest like Tarzan, then he stood up, leaned forward and threw his arms behind him like batman does when he is flying (and of course Grant had on his Batman pj's), then he ran over grabbed my hand, turned away from me and put his other fist in the air just as Superman does when he is saving Loise Lane.  Oh little man, you have no idea just how super your momma thinks you are!

Locked Out

Not too long ago, Grant and I had a little mishap when leaving Arby's. I always unlock the car, help Grant get in his seat, put my purse and keys in the front seat and buckle him in. On this day, I followed the same routine and shut the back door and attempted to open my door. That is when I discovered the problem. Somewhere in the process, I had managed to hit the lock button on the remote. My purse, my keys, my phone AND my child were in the car, and I was locked out. I knocked on the window and hollered "Grant, get out of your seat" (which he has NEVER even attempted to do). Grant, who had a chocolate shake in his hand, had no interest whatsoever in helping me and responded with a sweet "no" as he took another sip of his shake. I pleaded a few more times with him to no avail. He was too enthralled with his shake to help his poor momma out. I went inside and explained what I had done and asked to use a phone. The poor teenage kid working behind the counter took pity on me and handed me his cell phone. Luckily Danny was not on a call. He was at the station and had to drive home to get the spare set. Meanwhile, I stand outside the car and wait. I plead with Grant a few more times only to get the same sweet "no" followed by slurp slurp slurp. Then I hear a VROOOOM! Sure enough here comes my night in shining armor in. Dodge Charger topping the hill. PD 82 to save the day... Yet again!

School Starts Tomorrow

The time has come. School starts tomorrow. I sit here with tears. Tears of joy, pride, sadness and fear. I am so happy for Grant and this new chapter in his life and of course I am proud as a peacock of him. He is so smart, so funny, so handsome and so love able. I can't help but be a little sad, though. My baby is growing up. The baby and toddler years have gone. I am now the parent of a school boy - a Tannehill Brave. As any parent, and especially one of a special needs child, I am scared. Will his teachers understand him? Will the kids understand him? Will he be picked on or bullied? Will he make friends? Will he be able to let others know he understands?

So on this night here is my prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me to be Grants mom. He is a blessing beyond measure. I pray, be with him as he takes this new step. Give him courage. Give him confidence. Give him friends. Lord, help his teachers listen to what he has to say. Listen not only with their ears, but with their eyes and their sense of touch because Grant speaks with his.  Lord, let him learn great things. Let him spread his little wings. Let him grow. Lord, I pray you help me to step back so I may see him growing. Give me guidance to be the parent he so deserves. Amen!

Apraxia Awareness Day 2013

SO... TODAY IS THE FIRST EVER NATIONA APRAXIA OF SPEECH AWARENESS DAY!  What does that mean?  What is apraxia of speech?  It is a speech disorder where the signals from the brain get mixed up before getting to the muscles in the mouth and throat in order to form words.  The best analogy I have seen so far is the satellite signal in the rainstorm.  There is nothing wrong with the television station.  The signal leaves there just fine.  There is nothing wrong with your television.  The rain mixes the signal up.  There is nothing wrong with Grant's brain and there is nothing wrong with his mouth.  His signal is just mixed up.  Thank heavens it is something that he can overcome.  It will take a lot of speech therapy and practice at home.  He has made great strides since entering therapy, praise God.
     So what does this mean for Grant?  Well, imagine being in a classroom full of kids chattering up a storm.  You can understand them and want to respond, but your mouth won't make the words so easily as theirs.  You are hungry, thirsty, hurt, scared or mad but you can't find the words to tell anyone.  When someone asks your name or how old you are, you know the answer to both, you just can't say it.  You hear other kids, and adults too, asking what is wrong with you.  You just can't tell them "nothing.  I am a normal little boy who just wants to play.  I just can't get my mouth to do the right things."
     So what does this mean for me?  A roller coaster, to say the least!  I have this beautiful, smart, funny, energetic, ingenious little man that is the light of my life.  He is perfect because he is just the way that God made him, yet I can't get others to see that.  He is the problem child.  He is different.  He takes extra time.  I have news for those who don't/won't understand.  I will fight tooth and nail for this beautiful child.  I sit and listen to other parents telling stories of all the cute things their children have said, and I am jealous.  This disorder has robbed me of those moments with Grant.  I know he has stories he wants to tell me.  I can see it in his eyes, he just can't find the words.  There have been endless times that he has tried with all his might to tell me something and for the life of me I could not figure out what he was saying.  The disappointment in his eyes breaks my heart. I watch him in awe of his ingeniousness (is that a word).  When he is trying to tell me something and I don't understand, he will do his best to come up with another way to tell me. Even if it means making a monkey sound to tell me he wants to play with his barrell of monkeys in the bathtub.
     So, back to the beginning.  Today marks the first national awareness day.  I have worked to do my part to raise awareness, and I must say I am humbled.  I am blessed.  The amount of support I have received is overwhelming.  I have had to go back to the store TWICE to buy more supplies for ribbons.  At my last count I have made and handed out over 50!  Over 50 to support my precious boy! God is sooo good!