Today was Gavin’s first day with his Education Specialist. Her name is Suzanne and she came highly recommended. Suzanne came to our house for the therapy and worked for one full hour with him. He was responding to her techniques and generally seemed to enjoy the therapy.

I quietly folded laundry in the next room listening to the both of them work together and really hearing what it was she was teaching him so that I could mimic her technique and work with him here at home. Gavin really wants to read and is doing well. He is simply stumbling right now and has fallen behind his peers but we knew this was a possibility as his speech deficit impacts his ability to read and write.

As a mother it is hard to hear that your child is not where they are supposed to be with regards to his reading and writing. I have been worried about how he feels in school reading in front of his peers. I worry that he will become frustrated and give up altogether. I worry I can’t help him with any of this. As I’m writing this I realize that this entire paragraph is about “I” and what I am feeling with regards to his reading. And while I get that this is in no way about me I can’t help but talk all about me and what it is I’m feeling. I want my son to excel, to feel productive, to feel the same as the other kids in his class.  Obviously, I’m the only one in need of therapy at this point!

While I lamented on how I was going to get through all of this I managed to spring into action and call on the right people and get the testing and assessments necessary to figure out where his actual deficits were with his reading.  We pushed forward and got him the help he needs to succeed. That’s what you do.

We all want for our children to succeed and feel successful in all that they do. I am thankful that we have been surrounded by a team of individuals that wants this for our child as well and points us in the direction we need to be to ensure his success.

Thankfully Gavin takes everything in stride and realizes that he needs help with reading. He gets that therapy is just part of his norm and ours. I expect to see him really make some strides and great leaps forward. I can’t wait to share those happy hurdles with everyone!

tdowell22

I live in SoCal with my husband and two kids. Love reading, writing, being a foodie and coffee aficionado. I support other moms of cleft affected children. Our family is continuing along on this journey and we seek to help other families navigate terrain we've already covered. All Smiles is what we want for all cleft kiddos!