One of my better days today:-)
There is this kid….
At work,there is a little boy trapped inside his own body. He was born with cerebral palsy,Spastic type. He is nonverbal,or so they say. If he doesn’t gain a few pounds soon the GI doctor will put a Gtube in his stomach. He is soo stiff,that you have to exert much pressure on his middle to sit him in a car seat,wheelchair.
No one seems to know how cognitively aware he is. Look at him,that is all I have got to say. Look into those brown eyes. I had to push like heck to get him back in the classroom with me. His nurse,I am sure, couldn’t see the need,heck sometimes neither did I. He sits there,he smiles,isn’t that enough?
One day about two months ago,we were coloring. I had bought these crayons that were ball shaped. I put a few on his tray,some paper too. WHy not,he was a part of the group right? I turned around and he had a crayon in his hand,after he had put it in his mouth and chewed a good amount of it first. BIG smile. Well I said to him what I say to everyone,without much thought,ahh,”Billy,your using the Blue crayon?” Down went his head.”yes?” I said.Down went the head again.I’ll be damned,I thought. Okay. I took two crayons and said okay Billy pick the blue one. He went right for it! Aagin and again he picked the right one.
WELLL Ladies and Gentlemen let me tell you what happened today! He will be three next month,the public school district early intervention eval was being done. The SLP came looking for me,Thank you,Thank You so much SLP:-)
She says to me,”are you the one Billy picks colors for?”” Yes,I tell her” “hmm,she says,he doesn’t seem to know them today”. Hmm,let me see how your asking him. We go to the back room where the eval was taking place. SHe had two legos,one blue one yellow. In front of him,she says,”which one is blue?”He just looks at her.She says” if he will look at it I will mark it right”. “I think,hmm,what is it?” First off,the lego is too small,I put three together making it taller so he doesn’t have to try so hard to pick it up. Then like the same way I asked with the crayon I said,”billy pick up the blue one”,Whammo he picks it up!,then SLP shocked,looks at me,” Big SMILE” She changes them around so now the yellow is on the side the blue used to be. I say”billy pick the blue one,Whammo,he picks it up. If I could have hugged this SLP I would have,because she says,” I don’t think this kid is delayed,I think he is very physically impaired”She continued on until my big boy picked between the boy doll and the girl doll,lots of the colors,and more,which by the way is higher developmentally then a two year old! by the end of the faithful eval,a reccomedation for an assistive technology eval was made:-) For an augmentative communication device!
A educational course altered forever,YES!YES! YES!
Sometimes the good guys win
Thank you Socks. In a field that seems overwhelmed with bad news, you have brought a smile to my face forst thing in the AM.
Never give up on your child!
Re: Pick up your wings-that's a life saved NT
You amaze me. I have tears in my eyes.
When are you going to write a book? My NLD son can edit it for you ; )
Margo
Trust me I am NOT an angel-)
I can be someone’s worst nightmare,trust me:-) When it comes to my little angels,trust me…
Re: YES! YES! YES! YES!
Awesome socks! Thanks for the goosebumps! You’ve really managed to be part of a miracle here. Most impressive. One at a time!
Best regards.
Andy
Re: YES! YES! YES! YES!
It is wonderful. It is also wonderful that the slt had the good sense to come find you. A less competent person would have been more interested in getting through the testing than being accurate.
Beth
Re: Gosh Socks, you are the only one on this board who can m
I agree. I really think you have a gift for telling a story.
Beth
Re: YES! YES! YES! YES!
I’ll join the others in thanking you for sharing this… AND for helping htat little boy have a chance at a real life!
Karen
somebody pass the tissues please
Socks, thank you again for sharing. Reminds me of a little girl I worked with in New Zealand. She was left to lay there doing nothing until I met her when she was 5. I started working with her and she lit up. No one had ever expected anything from her before. The day I started trying to get her to feed herself she through the spoon across the room. That was when I was sure that her mind was intact. Last I saw her, she was walking around the school, holding on to my fingers, making eye contact with people and smiling at them. I wish I knew then what I know now. The class she was in was just meant to provide for the children’s physical needs. I wasn’t visiting for long but I still think I could have done more for her.
Thanks for sharing...
I already passed your story onto all the SLP’s I know….I am like you where there is a will there is a way….I never take anything at face value… You go girl!!
well guess what happened today:-)
Linda,
I don’t know if you remember this,but when I first started this job,I had posted kind of an SOS post. I was feeling very discouraged about the lack of stimulation the kids were getting,and you told me,as long as they heard a human voice,as long as you kept talking to them they would develop language skills,well just so you know,I have never stopped since.
Well at the risk of making you cry again,let me share what happened today.
I have two very different boys in my program,one is very needy,and one isn’t?
Sammy is 5 and very impulsive,the blackhole of attention,and can be as mean as the day is long.( sound anything like anyone? been talking with grandma about ADHD or actually mental health intervention period) my other little boy Bobby is 3. Very delayed. Nonverbal,cortically blind,Gtube feeder,nonambulator.( this is the kid I have posted about who would cry incessively,driving me about out of my mind) He is like a huge size infant,cute little cherub,who when you hug him and cuddle, will smile.
Well today,Bobby,being less mobile,was sitting on the floor in front of Sammy,and because he wouldn’t move out of his way,Sammy just bopped him in the head,thinking this would make him move. Well it didn’t. I saw this, and,well I got mad. It infuriated me that this big kid would hit this totally defenseless child. I laid into Sammy. Said,”hey! Not nice! Not nice at all,if you want him to move what do you say?” Sammy says,”he doesn’t listen” I said,”you call my name” And I showed him,” SOOOCCKS” I called loudly.”SOOCCKKS” came back to me,not from Sammy,but from Bobby!
Swear to you guys,I swear.I did it again,”SOOCCKKS”,and “SSOOCCCKS” came out again!No,he didn’t have it perfect but the syllables were definitely there.This KID has only babbled B’s so far. I flew out of the room into the treatment room,grabbed the first person I could find,and said,please come here! She did. I said it again,”soccks”. Nothing. “sooccks” NothingThere he sat,looking as adorable as usual,and making me look like I was insane. The nurse chuckled and started walking out. “ssssooooccckks” He jumped up and down. “socks” I said, Now about three other kids chorused with him “soocckks” Now the nurse looked at me. Yup,yup,he is saying it! Wow has he ever said it before? No,I said. I watched as he bounced up and down,smiling. Good job Bobby! Another good day:-)
Re: well guess what happened today:-)
I remember that post, you were so worried about all your little guys and their lack of stimlation. I know so many nurses who are burnt out and discouraged. Yet, I too have experienced small miracles. I myself moved around alot while in the profession to avoid burn out. You are an inspiration to me. I wonder at times as my little one gets closer to kindergarten and I ponder career options if we didn’t cross paths for a reason. Before this I really had put clinical nursing behind me.
Ok, who sent you tapping on my shoulder. Tell the truth. Was it the big guy upstairs.
NT