Today was Ms. June's last day working with John on his speech development. She came into our home once a week to work with John for the past two years and has done an exceptional job. When she began John was a few months into being 2 yrs old and said only a few words, such as 'ball', 'baby', 'mama' and 'dada'. His first evaluation showed his speech level to be that of an 18 month old.
Ms. June made John's speech sessions fun for him and he didn't even realize he was working and learning. That's how good she was. For John it was all a game. Ms. June came each week to "play" and she was there only for John and he loved it.
Because of the difficulty in communication between John and the rest of the world he sometimes had aggressive outbursts or would be very angry and/or refuse to participate. Ms. June never let his tantrums get in the way and would lovingly and patiently guide him back to focus on their "game". The woman had the patience of a Saint and there were days I was nearly brought to tears because of John's bad behavior and she would reassure me and comfort me telling me things would be fine. She became a part of our family.
She stuck with John through good days and bad and never made him feel like he wasn't going to get it. She was always positive and encouraging and stern when she needed to be when he acted out.
Now that John will be going to Pre-K he will continue to get his speech therapy through the elementary school and Ms. June will move on to another little one who needs help. We have truly been blessed to have her in our home each week to work with John. He came from saying a few baby words to speaking in complete sentences and finally being able to be understood by those around him. There are a few things that on occasion may not be quite understood, but, overall, there's really no more communication gap between John and the world around him.
Thank you so much Ms. June!
No comments:
Post a Comment