Adventures in Speech Therapy, Part 3: Graduation Time

If you have missed the other parts of this series, you can click the links below.

Part 1

Part 2

I have nothing but good things to say about our experience with the private firm we are using in our town. My daughter's speech therapist, Claire, says my daughter has shown some of the fastest improvement she's ever seen. As far as the speech and enunciation part of the sessions, my daughter has graduated and no longer needs that therapy. I almost take hearing her speak correctly for granted now. I can't remember the last time she "slipped up" and said an "r" sound incorrectly. A couple of weeks ago, she suggested because of a vocabulary game they were playing that we start a new focus with our sessions--communication and comprehension skills.

I knew the trouble Claire was seeing in her session with my daughter is part of the Auditory Processing delay my child was diagnosed with a few years ago. Sometimes, my daughter has a different way of describing than the way most people would typically verbalize. As an English teacher and writer, I see it as both a blessing and a curse. I choose to look at the blessing side. Writers are applauded for originality and being unique. The curse comes in when people try to conform you to a prescribed way of descriptions and vocabulary. My daughter sometimes sees the world through a set of tinted glasses that I believe would make the world a better place if more people saw the world the way she does.

I am completely in favor of increasing my daughter's vocabulary. Claire had some great suggestions about what to do to work on it. Games like Taboo and other word association games are helpful, along with analogies and "Which word doesn't belong?" exercises are great for increasing them. All these are skills we can work on at home, though, and I am grateful that I have resources at home which allow us to work on improving these skills.

 

Ultimately, I arrived at this conclusion: we will be completing our final week of private therapy this week. It has been wonderful, and though I am grateful our insurance has paid for a large chunk of it, our weekly charge can be used at home to purchase skills books to work on the same things she is working on with her therapist. I will be sad that we won't see Claire and her bright personality each week, but I know that my daughter has graduated from her speech needs. I anticipate that we may be visiting Claire again with my son, so our paths may cross again in the future.

Do you have any questions about our experience? Please leave them in the comments below.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe, by Todd Wilson

After a recommendation from my cousin and friend several months ago to read this humorous and encouraging book by Todd Wilson, I finally picked up the Kindle version on Amazon. It’s a bargain at just $4.99, and I was able to use some of the Amazon credit I’d earned on Swagbucks. I only wish I’d read it sooner!

This book is laced with cartoons that both new and seasoned homeschoolers will appreciate. Wilson’s main message spoke to me loud and clear–God gave YOU your kids. Don’t compare them or your family to Suzy Homeschooler and her clan down the street. Don’t fall into the “keeping up with the Joneses” trap when it comes to shepherding your children.

God doesn’t make mistakes. You know best about your children–their likes, bends, and abilities, as well as their struggles and weaknesses. Just because “little Alice” down the street is a master on the piano and violin (and six other instruments by the age of 10) doesn’t mean your children are failures because they can’t play one. Your children have bends and abilities that those children do not. The idea of “training up a child in the way he should go” can be interpreted as being a way to help your child enhance the inclinations he/she already possesses.

God’s timing really is perfect. After reading this book, my husband and I were discussing our kids, and he said to me, “God chose our kids for us.” I was moved to tears, because the night before, I had read this in Wilson’s book. Not only does Wilson dispel the lies that homeschool moms buy, he replaces them with truths that we can adopt.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
"Your children will become exactly what God has created them to be, NOT because of your efforts, but IN SPITE off your efforts."

"...teaching your own children is nothing like teaching someone else's children."

"You are God's 'Plan A' for your children."

"Sometimes the reason your children don't 'get it' is because they weren't created to get it...easily."

"God gave your children exactly the mother they needed."


While I am an advocate for doing your best and striving to do better, we must remember as loving parents to know what expectations are reasonable for our children. Wilson’s book embraces this idea. I highly recommend this read for all homeschool moms who feel stressed and overwhelmed.

Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe is available at Amazon right now for $4.99 for the Kindle version.  It's worth every penny!

If you read and enjoy this book, I also highly recommend another book: Nurture by Nature: Understand Your Child's Personality Type - And Become a Better Parent. (Watch my blog for a review of this book as well.

Here's a list of the books I recommend for any beginning homeschooler's bookshelf:




Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."