Monday 30/06/2008 Speech disorders In bilingual adults (Gazelle Books)

I've been umming and ahhing about including this link, since this book is about the speech pathology of speech and language disorder in bilingual adults rather than children. It also seems to be aimed at professionals rather than for parents. I have decided to let you make up your own minds, so here is the link :- http://www.gazellebookservices.co.uk/ISBN/1600215602.htm for Gazelle Books and the book in question is Speech & Language Disorders in Bilinguals and is by Alfredo Ardila & Eliane Ramos (eds)

Language Development, Learning & Disorders by George V Iwald & Kevin B Pierce (eds) looked interesting and I also liked the sound of Understanding Sam : (and Asperger's Syndrome) by Clarabelle van Niekerk :- http://www.gazellebookservices.co.uk/ISBN/0974721719.htm Both also available from Gazelle books. I have yet to find something similar to the latter for children with SLI.

Sunday 29/06/2008 The Party

We have had a really fantastic day. M was invited to a school friend's party and of course the Dad and I went along too. For the first time ever I felt that there were no marked differences between M and his peer group. Despite the large number of children, noise and general mayhem, M held his own.

He played, shared, chattered and laughed and it was a joy to behold. Instead of feeling on edge and ever watchful, the Dad and I were able to sit back and enjoy a really chilled afternoon. Several people commented on how well his speech had progressed, so all the hard work is really beginning to pay off. I also feel much happier answering questions about M's disabilities, now that we have a specific diagnosis. A lot of the anxiety was caused by the worry of not knowing how to help our beautiful son.

It is days like this that I have to remind myself how far he has come and how proud I am of his incredible progress. Getting the right help has been essential, but I find myself thinking less about the difficulties and more about how much fun we are all having together.

Saturday 28/06/2008 The Artist

I do feel a little appeased this week, since school are having a 'Shine' week. This is so that children can bring in photos, certificates and medals to show case things that they are good at.

I was very impressed with M's balloon art this week. In case you can't guess the theme is Spongebob Squarepants.

Friday 07/06/2008 Cued Speech

I received an email from Roaring Mouse a while back asking if I had heard of the use of 'Cued Speech' in relation to speech and language difficulties.Whilst I haven't investigated this much further in relation to M, I thought I would post some info regarding this.

The first is from the National Cued speech association:-
http://www.cuedspeech.org/sub/cued/default.asp

This web page gives a brief description and more detailed links about the cued speech programme. It also details how cued speech is useful for children with speech, language and other developmental disorders, as well as for deaf children. It is a multi sensory learning system that can accelerate the learning of phonics by making phonemes visual.

It is also well worth watching this documentary:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPw4H-ZsMg

On Dr Cornett, the inventor and director of cued speech programme at Gallaudet University,Washington DC. I understand that this method is used in successfully in some schools here.

Thursday 26/06/2008 Healthy Competition?

I think that it is a real shame that school sports days have to be non competitive these days. As the parent of a child with significant impairments in lots of areas, I'd love for M's one big ability to be able to shine through.

The whole school system is based on a system of assessment and evaluation; children are coached to take SATs from the age of six in some instances. M was followed round by a teacher writing on post it’s, from the age of four. We are sending these kids out into a world that is hugely competitive, so are we giving them adequate experience of this, by not allowing them to compete on any level?

Whilst I understand that competitive sport isn’t much fun for those less physically able, there has to be a way of encouraging promising athletes. Perhaps the children could work towards a point system, so that every competitor helps to gain points for his team. I am totally against making a child take part against his/her will, but we often have competitions that require artistic or literary skills, which are accepted without question.Of course I am obviously biased, so what do you think?

Donna Williams' Comment

I am absolutely delighted and honoured today to receive a comment from Donna Williams the, artist, author and singer song writer. Those of you who have been reading for a while may remember my post about how much I admired her work. I was very moved by her story and You tube video. I can understand how her words have been so inspirational, especially to those who have felt trapped and without a voice.

http://sunshinetc.blogspot.com/2008/05/tuesdsay-20052008-donna-williams.html

Thank you Donna I shall be looking out for that new album!

Wednesday 25/06/2008 Afasic Publications

Today's link is for Afasic who provide glossary sheets for specific language and communication problems, http://www.afasic.org.uk/pub.htm#speech. The PDF for specific language disorder was of particular inteterest to me obviously.

There are a number of useful publications at the bottom of the page and I shall be sending for this one:-

Accessing speech and language therapy for your child - a guide to the law. A comprehensive 36-page guide to the law on speech and language therapy provision. (Applies to England and Wales only). Revised 2004 £3.00

Tuesday 24/06/2008 In a perfect world ........

Over the last few days, I have been having some of concerns about the blog. A few family members and friends have expressed concerns that it is too personal as it it 'out there.' There is a fine line between useful and too much information. I have given this a lot of thought and I have taken myself back to the original reasons for sharing our story so publicly.

Disability is till a very taboo subject, when I mention M’s difficulties to people I have just met, I sometimes see their expressions change and their faces close like invisible shutters. It is somehow not nice or even polite to talk about imperfection in a world that values success and achievement. Like any proud Mother I want to talk about the things that M does best but I am equally proud of his dogged determination to overcome something that could be a life long impediment.

Shells from Mumsnet has flagged up the ‘Shut up about your perfect kids’ You tube clip from the programme Mom Matters.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fssRv_0e4Uk in response to my recent post. Gina Gallagher says ‘People suffer quietly, what our book and our movement is letting them know is that they are not alone’ I really liked the ethos behind their forum ‘imperfect people unite’ She went on to add that we should showcase disabilities in the same way that we do with ability.

I know from the responses I have had and the stories that parents have shared that there are a whole virtual community of parents grieving, coping, learning and applauding their children who have special needs.

Monday the 23/06/2008 'Recognizing and treating speech and language disabilities'

I came across this article by Diane Paul Brown and Charles C Diggs,
whilst researching something completely different:- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0842/is_n4_v19/ai_15538210/pg_1

It is a beautifully written piece about the sometimes lifelong impact and implications of speech and language disabilities. This extract is written by a young woman who has learned to communicate using an electronic system. She writes about her inability to communicate:-

" ... very frustrating. It's very lonely. It hurts.
"Think about it. You feel, you think, you know and understand the words, yet you cannot speak them. You hear everyone around you in an interesting conversation, but you cannot join in."

The articles goes on to explore the impact of communication difficulties on academic achievement and in the work place. It details the ways in which speech pathologist methods may help to alleviate the problems faced by people who have differing speech and language disabilities.

Sunday 23/06/2008 Blues skies and music

This week, we have managed to find an independent SALT to cover Aimee's maternity leave, so I feel at least one weight has been lifted this week.

We had one of those gorgeous Sundays, when we caught up with family out in the fresh air. We went to an small event with Lily and G, where there was a live band and circus skills for the kids. M had a great time trying to juggle, rolling around huge balls and plate spinning. He had just as much fun wrestling and trying to cover me in ice cream!

Since M seemed to tolerate the loud music, we might just brave the Lamer Tree festival, http://www.larmertreefestival.co.uk/festival_info.html next year. I shall leave the camping to the boys, since I have refused to sleep under canvass, since one disastrous holiday in circa 1985.

Lily and I bagged the picnic blanket for a spot of cloud spotting, whilst the Dad chased after M and climbed trees.We ended the day with a spot of hula hooping in Lily and G's beautiful garden. Bliss!

Saturday 21/06/2008 'Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid' Blog

M's First Ever Day At Preschool

(sobbing Mum not in camera shot)

Firstly Happy Summer Solstice! I hope that yours isn't too much of a damp squib, especially for those throwing a party http://lilaandthemonkeyssummersolstice.blogspot.com/

For those of you who know me well (and even some of you who know me a little), you'll know its a given that by this point in the year, I am already worrying about who M's new teacher will be, how I will cope with six weeks of entertaining M and how he will deal with the transition to a new class in September. I have just discovered this delightful and very funny blog via About.com

http://www.shutupaboutyourperfectkid.com/index.php?option=com_jd-wp&Itemid=43
It is written by sisters Gina Gallagher and Patty Konjoian about their experiences raising their children, who have disabilities.

I particularly liked this post,
http://www.shutupabout.com/index.php?option=com_jd-wp&Itemid=69&p=87 by Gina about her own anxieties for her daughter who has Aspergers syndrome, regarding each new school year. It made me reminisce about some of my own antics in making sure all bases were covered for M each time he encountered a new environment. All too embarrassing to blog about, but the term Military Mum comes to mind.

Friday 20/06/2007 Building Speech and Langauge Skills

I have recently come across the is acticle 'dbpeds.org' :-
http://www.dbpeds.org/articles/detail.cfm?TextID=275

It sets out very clear language milestones including ages when children should be speaking in short phrases and sentence formation.This is extremely useful for parents who are beginning to have concerns about their child's speech. I also found this website http://www.blankees.com/baby/speech/ similarly useful.

My second link regarding language milestones is for 'Children's Disabilities Information' :-
http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/speech/guidelines.html

There are also a number of links to various parent support groups and forums:-
http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/speech/groups-speech-communication.html

Wednesday 18/06/2008 The Friend

Building and maintaining relationships are difficult for even the most articulate adults. Our lives are busy and we juggle work, home lives, families and friends and we often neglect to spend time with the people who mean the most to us. Life can sometimes get in the way. Imagine the added impediment for those who aren't able to communicate well. We have all met people who find it hard to make small talk and those who aren't able to pick up on the subtle conversational cues.I'd probably count myself as being within the category.So much to say so little time!

Really interesting conversations ebb and flow, we pause listen and process what is being said, before making our contribution. For M this is almost impossible. If he is moved to speak, he has to do so immediately and often repeats what he has to say over and over. Despite these difficulties he is sociable and I'm pretty sure his sporting abilities have made him him popular in the playground. I am proud to say he has a small number of really good, very special friends.

There is one little boy who stands out to me. C has a quality I can't quite put into words. He is cheeky and cheerful, exuberant and kind. He sits with M and watches him play computer games for hours, patiently waiting to be able to have a turn. He accepts M's echolalia and in fact joins in with it quite happily. He has taught M to climb lampposts and that dogs can be fun. The day after Gismo had his infamous cat fight, the two little boys came into the kitchen with handfuls of fur and big triumphant smiles. Sometimes they don't say anything much at all to one another, but C reminds me that communication is about so much more than speech. I have a hunch that this little boy will make the world sit up and take notice one day!

Tuesday 17th June 2008 ITV My child won’t eat.

http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/MyChildWontEat/Ep1Wk2508/default.html

I was intrigued by the trailer for the above programme, in view of my concerns about M’s diet. The programme covered the work of leading child psychologist Gillian Harris, with children who have food phobias. Rachel, a young teenager who was on the Autistic spectrum, would only eat chocolate and crisps there were a little boy who had never really been weaned, due to a severe allergy to dairy.

Whilst M’s diet is no where near as extreme as that of the children shown, his eating habits have been the cause of great anxiety all round. M found the progression from milk to solids very difficult and we found that certain textures and flavours would make him violently sick. The strange thing was that he could chew well and loved crunchy foods, but if there was a single lump in his mash potato, he would gag.

Meal times became a battle ground, when I would cook up to three separate dinners for him to try. The more we coaxed, cajoled and nagged him the more foods he rejected and the more anxious he became. At one point I would puree big batches of vegetables into spaghetti bolognaise which he would have night after night. Since I am vegetarian, the Dad would need yet another different meal prepared at a later time.Subsequently my own diet went out of the window. My meals were eaten on the hoof, in transit or skipped completely.

When Dr Harris recommended that parents give children the food that they want and gradually introduce foods with out over coaxing and making a fuss, I imagined I could hear a collective sigh from Mothers all over the country. This is exactly what we did and slowly but surely mealtimes have become more varied and most importantly a pleasure again.

Today’s link comes from my Mumsnet pal Total Chaos and is for a website called ‘Say it with symbols’ There are an abundance of useful links and resources, on the right hand side of the site:- http://www.givinggreetings.com/learn.html

Sunday 16/06/2008 Putting On The Ritz

I had a lovely day out with the girls yesterday. We spent the afternoon and evening in London. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Supremes exhibition:-http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/supremes/index.html The fifty costumes from the Mary Wilson Collection are amazing, particularly some of the beaded and sequined pop art numbers. Equally interesting, was the detailed history of Motown and the influence that the Supremes had against the backdrop of The American Civil rights Movement and political events of the 1960's. We all sported really naff cocktail rings for the afternoon, which we bought as souvenirs. No doubt M will pinch mine, as pirates treasure!

In the evening we went to the Ritz for tea, as a belated Birthday treat:- http://www.theritzlondon.com/tea/index.asp. We weren't allowed to take photos I sneaked a piccie (above) of the fab ceiling of Palm court.The boys had knobbled the camera for the day, as they had a race, but my sisters have promised to email me some more pics of the day which I will post soon.

Whist we were busy being civilised, the boys did a two mile race at Swindon. M did the two miles in fifteen minutes and came fifth in the under elevens. The Dad could not keep pace with him.

Happy Father's Day To Spuds And The Dad Two Of The Best x

Saturday 14/6/2008 The Catch up

We had a catch up meeting with M's SALT yesterday and it was great to hear that he is making great progress. What we always have to bear in mind is that even though we can see a marked improvement in M's speech, the other children will be moving on, so catching up is a long process.

There are areas that M still finds really difficult such as categorisation and semantics/pragmatics. This is an area I'll be looking to help him with, in a creative way over the summer. M's strengths are reading and literacy, but he struggles more with mathematical concepts. There are things like odd and even numbers that are quite an abstract concept, in terms of the language used. I have to admit maths is not a strong point for me either and so am going back to school, in the autumn myself. The nice thing about writing the blog is that I have booked marked resources that might be useful for M in the future, as I come across them. I shall now be checking out the http://www.numicon.com/ for the resources highlighted by Moondog of Mumsnet, a while back.

This time of year is always a bit difficult as we are anticipating new teachers and TA's for the following school year. We also need to find an independent SALT, to cover Aimee's maternity leave, so lots to do before the end of term. We will be completing a communication passport for M, so that we don't have to cover old ground and to give clarification of what his communication needs are. We are hoping for a catch up meeting with the head master/SENCO and I am interested info regarding CAF http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/caf/ I'd be interested to hear other parents' experiences.

Incidentally, is anyone else going about their day humming this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTQmD3srV4o and feeling like a special needs Mum come Whirling Dervish?

Thursday 12th June 2008 Too loud too bright, too fast too Tight

I have mentioned M’s sensory difficulties a number of time and found the Sensory checklists in the Hanen book ‘Talkability’ really useful in identifying which areas are out of sync.

A lady at my support group suggested the above book, by Sharon Heller to me. I have found it really enlightening. Heller explains why certain people have strong reactions to sensory stimuli. This extract about Barbara Streisand struck a chord, as I felt that there were a lot of similarities with the difficulties M has with hearing.

“As a child Barbara Streisand heard clicks and buzzing that evolved into high pitched, high range noise creating auditory defensiveness. She never heard silence. An ear exam revealed “super sonic hearing.” As fidelity was poor she seldom played the radio. She felt different, abnormal and kept her sensitivity a secret.”

When M was about three or four years old, I thought that he might be psychic. He would stand on a railway bridge and predict the type of train that was coming when it was about two or three minutes away. He could also tell me if it changed at the points. He could not see over the top of the bridge let alone see the trains which were only visible to me once, they had come around the corner. Similarly, he would tell me that a ‘postman pat van’ was at the end of the road two minutes before we and it actually arrived.

I was also interested by the section in the secondary effects of Mother’s Rhythms. Heller explains how the way in which babies are held, rocked and played with, helps them to balance their physiology. This had me searching through the baby photos once again, to see how I held M, as an infant.

The book helps to evaluate individual needs and advises how to make adaptions to environment, diet and posture to provide a ‘sensory diet’.

Wednesday 11/06/2008 DLA

I am sorry I have been so quiet this week, we have been trying to complete the DLA forms. It as been preoccupying us for the last few weeks. We have even had a lovely lady form the local Carers society call out, to assist. This is nothing unusual you would think, but we are both ex civil servants, used to filling out forms and yet we felt that it was beyond our capabilities.

On the one hand we baulked at applying for this, and on the other we felt that M is entitled to it, and so felt duty bound to apply.

For those of you who have been through this process you'll understand how painful it is to have to break you child's difficulties down into minute detail including, days hours and minutes.What is day to day life for us, really packs a punch, when it is all written down in black and white.Still the deed is done, bar dotting a few I's and crossing a few T's.

Monday 9/06/2008 The Real Monkey

Sunday 08/06/2008 Speak No Evil

I have been in a reflective mood this weekend. We went to a car boot sale at the school this morning and I couldn’t resist buying these little fellas, as they remind me of a certain someone special.

It has been a fantastic year for M. He has been working with and fabulous teaching assistant and she was recently talking to the Dad about managing M’s meltdowns. She said ‘I can read him like a book’. It is fair to say that what you see is what you get with M. I have often described him and the other children that I know who have similar difficulties, as 100% organic. They are quick to show joy, panic, despair and anger. At times it is like watching a faulty barometer, as a plethora of emotions storm across his face. M finds it very difficult to self regulate his behaviour.

This can be by turns, refreshing and worrying for those that care for M. I have often tried to articulate this and haven’t quite been able to find exactly the right words. To me as his parent, it seems to me that what M lacks is guile. The children in his peer group are lovely. They accommodate and except his differences in the way that only the young can and yet they can also run rings around him.

M is happy to go with the flow, to copy, mimic and generally join in with a simplified version of the play ground games. Unfortunately he does not always hide bad behaviour from adults, in the way that the other children have learned to. He isn't yet able to moderate his tone or adapt his speech, when speaking to people in authority and recently he has been encouraged to say very rude things and swear, by some other children.Of course there is a slightly comedic element to M's endeavours to spit venom. He often misunderstands or hears a word slightly differently and so we are currently called, "nogs" or "bonts," I can only imagine the words he is trying to replicate.

My worry is that what is tolerable, or even charming behaviour in a young child, may not be perceived that way as he reaches his teens. We work very hard at helping him to become self aware and although delayed, he does have a good sense of self. If only I could walk before him through life waving a red warning flag at potential dangers.

I was amused by these wilkapedia entries, about the origin of the Japanese proverb of the three wise monkeys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys My Grandmother had a brass set, that stood on her mantle piece for many years.

Friday 06/06/2008 Proud Post

Now if hindsight were foresight I'd have saved our Wish Fish picture until today. It was actually an entry for a competition at school, as part of Book Week. The competition was in honour of a visit today, from Author John Bush who wrote 'The Fish Who Could Wish'. John judged the competition, to "design a wish fish depicting something you, your family or school would wish for" and M won the prize for his year group!

M meticulously spent ages cutting and sticking the sparkly scales on! The prize was a book token and we bought a lovely book and will definitely be ordering a The fish who could wish, http://www.korkypaul.com/picfish.html since we couldn't see it at the book fair.

Thursday 05/06/2008 The Candy Man Can

Today's post is written in retaliation to this one by the Garden Monkey: http://thegardenmonkey.blogspot.com/2008/06/garden-monkeys-guide-to-snakes.html

It had me going about my daily tasks singing 'Green Anaconda' all day! It is fab though and M loved it.

M is also mesmerised by this song from Shrek 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm4I-Zn_a2Y&feature=related

For a child who finds speech difficult, he has a pretty good go at the lyrics. Judging by the length of time we have to spend singing it, I'd certainly say that practice makes perfect.

And if that one doesn't get you this one (M's absolute favourite) certainly will:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4kR8OQCrlQ

He does a pretty good jive too, its in the genes!

Wednesday 04/06/200/ Sensory Integration Problems

I have briefly mentioned M’ sensory integration difficulties and in particular his sensitivity to sound and auditory processing difficulties. M is extremely sensitive to some fabrics and cannot abide certain tastes and textures. This means that his diet can be a bit limited. There is never a time during his waking hours, when M is completely still. He fiddles, flaps, flicks, fidgets and kicks his way through the day. This is probably a characteristic that he has inherited from the Dad. The elder is working from home today and he is currently pacing the length of the room, with the phone glued to his ear talking loudly Grrrrrrrr!

My first link today is a paper by Cindy hatch Rasmussen that gives a very good definition of Sensory Integration and the difficulties that people with Autism and developmental disorders face: http://www.autism.org/si.html

I have also found the Comeunity website very interesting:
http://www.comeunity.com/disability/sensory_integration/ The skills assessment for sensory integration article is particularly useful and I also loved this article by Dale Lips, about his son Alex http://www.comeunity.com/disability/sensory_integration/a-day.html. I could definitely see some similarities between Alex and M and we have also found the 'magnadoodle' or 'Etch a sketch' an extremely useful tool.

This article by Rachel Browne 'meal Time Hints for children with food aversion' really was a Godsend for us, since M is often physically sick if we attempt to get him to try something new: http://www.comeunity.com/premature/child/growth/feeding-hints.html

Tuesday 03/06/2008 Get On Parade!

PHOTO
(A Good looking boy in a red and white striped top holding a star)

Over the last couple of weeks I have heard many assurances. I hear that “forty is the new thirty,” that “I am in my prime” and to hold on tight because “Life Begins.” In view of this I have made some new life resolutions:

I will lose that weight and get fit.

Since I do not fit into the ‘Yummy Mummy’ category, I shall join the ranks of the remarkably well organised Alpha Mummy set.

I shall prioritise my time and fit the house work, gardening, special needs reading, Blog and laundry jobs into a workable time table.

I shall not sweat the small stuff.

At school today, M had to dress as a character from his favourite book. I overheard a lot of the Mum’s saying that their boys were going to wear any of the super heroes, dressing up clothes that came to hand. I smiled to myself a little smugly, as I had ordered a red and white T shirt and made a beautiful cardboard rocket and star. I had face paints at the ready and was going to transform M into the boy from Oliver Jeffers Book ‘How to catch a star.’

http://www.amazon.com/How-Catch-Star-Oliver-Jeffers/dp/0399242864

On Friday I went to gather all of my bits and pieces together and found that the Face paints had disappeared from the top of the wardrobe! I hastily went out and bought an orange lipstick and hoped to goodness it would suffice.

This morning M over slept. I had to prop him up on the toilet seat whilst I tried to apply the lipstick with the other hand. Disaster! The brand new lipstick had been snapped off at the base and all that remained was the sticky remnants in the bottom of the tube. I did my best but despite my best efforts, the effect was a little vague, to say the least. The blue trousers I had put aside had been worn over the weekend and sported grass stains or something more dubious! No matter I told myself, he has been trying to catch a star. A dirty job!

As we stepped out of the house, the heavens opened and we arrived at school with an extremely creased, damp and crinkled star and rocket.The colours had also seem to diminish, during the short journey, or was it just that they shrivelled under the dazzling array of superb costumes? Alas I have the enthusiasm, but not the talent.

There was a brief respite in the weather as the children twirled and paraded in the courtyard. One child had a complete lightening McQueen costume made out of goodness knows what? Another had a home made, Dalmatian suit that was simply fab! There was a large selection of princesses, several Harry Potters and rather worryingly some Ninja turtles karate kicking their way across the line of characters.

Then at last I spotted him, make up completely wiped away, proudly waving his crumpled star and rocket and wearing the biggest, brightest smile of them all! The Mum had done good after all, except that…. I also forgot the camera.

Monday 02/06/2008 Interesting Links

The Wish Fish By M

The first of my links is an interesting article from the Doctors Guide.It details a a study by the University of California San Francisco published published 8th May 1997, in the scientific journal Nature.This explores the theory of Specific Language Impairment Due To Inability To Process Sound Normally because of a phenomenon known as "masking."

http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/25b76.htm

The second link is to the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2006 paper 'Differentiating between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Developmental Disabilities in Children Who Failed a Screening Instrument for ASD':

http://www.springerlink.com/content/8271261w73321401/

The second link was flagged up by Mumsnetter Wads.Would someone please give me a nudge me if I start to repeat myself. I have a knack of filing away my useful links and forgetting where I have put them, or whether I have already posted them. Its my age!!!

Sunday 01/06/2008 Jane Pearn ‘God without Words’

It troubles me that my posts haven't always represented my view of speech and language therapists generally. Although our experiences haven’t always been good, I am mindful and in awe of the work that they do and the difference that they make, to children’s lives.

I came across this article entitled ‘God without words’ recently, written by speech and Language therapist and Quaker Jane Pearn for ‘the Friend’ http://www.thefriend.org/. I was profoundly moved by what she had to say and had to say about the children she works with.

‘As a writer of poetry, I know what it is like not to be able to find the words for what I mean. As a Quaker, when I rise to the to the minister I can almost be over powered by a sense of my own words’ inadequacy to rise to the occasion. And I have sometimes, as we all know failed to understand what is being said. But for these children, it is their regular state.’

She goes on to say ‘I learn humbly, about the overwhelming need to communicate, to get through to another person. I learn that not being able to say it, is not the same as having nothing to say. I learn to give my attention to the message, not the medium; to look beneath the surface for what is really meant; to choose my words carefully and mindfully for the child I’m speaking to. And what I learn from them, I try to carry into the rest of my life’

As a parent her words echo my own fears for the future when she writes ‘We worry about some of them as they grow up, cast loose on a world that demands quick responses, articulacy and literacy; a world of instructions and announcements and different accents; a world of jokes and sarcasm; a world where people are judged by how they speak as well as their appearance.’

Jane's final sentence, really brings home the responsibly society has, to ensure these children are heard 'The degree to which their differences or disabilities become a handicap may depend not on them- but on the rest of us.'