Nov. 22, 2009 - Listening Therapy is Over - and Successful!
Ten weeks ago, my daughter was still struggling to read Dick & Jane books. She wrestled with words like "this" and "then." If she asked me what a word spelled and I told her, she would remember it the next time she saw it but not the third time she came across it. Even though she enjoyed writing, she couldn't spell much of anything, nor could she read back what she wrote because it was so badly spelled. When I asked her a question, she would often disappear into a blank stare for close to a minute before answering.
Much of this stemmed from an auditory processing difficulty.
Last Friday, I watched her work on the beginning of a phonics curriculum with a tutor during the last session of her Listening Fitness Therapy. She read about 40 words on cards, one after the other, no problem. She had to stop and sound out a couple of the words, but most were as easy for her as they would be for me. Then she worked on spelling several simple words - again, no problem. She could sound them out and use the right letters for the sounds. Last night she read half of Dr.Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to me, easily recognizing many longer words. And the blank stares are gone.
If I didn't understand some of the science behind the Listening Fitness Therapy, I would think this was a miracle. In only ten weeks, she has accomplished things we've been working on for 3 years. We still have some ongoing work to do at home, including using Anna Buck's Anna's Sound Bits phonics/language arts curriculum. But now I'm expecting she can succeed instead of continuing to struggle in her schoolwork.
What a blessing to find the right key to unlock my child's learning. I am beyond thankful!
Oct. 29, 2009 - NDD Therapy Update
Over the last few months, I've had people find my blog as they're investigating Anna Buck's Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapy that we've had my son in since last January. I had meant to blog regularly about his progress, but it appears I haven't written much (if anything) about it since shortly after we started. So I thought I'd update with some of the changes we've noticed in him since beginning:
- Reading: Before starting NDD therapy, he had a hard time reading anything more complex than a simple picture book with a few sentences on each page, even after months of Vision Therapy. However, last summer he became interested in novels written for his age level (he's 10 1/2) and started reading books like The Lightning Thief. His eyes still tire after 4 or 5 pages, but it's a huge step over a short period of time.
- Clumsiness: Many friends have told me they noticed he's much more aware of his body and a lot less clumsy than before. He's obviously much more aware of his body, and much of that change shows in drawings of people - he started drawing pictures of people with features like ears and hair and the occasional neck.
- Panic/Anger: He was always the kind of child who would fly into a panic or get overly angry over small things - losing something, getting surprised, things not going as expected. Wow, he is so much more calm as the "startle" reflex has inhibited over the last several months. If he loses something, he will just look for it and persist until he finds it instead of screaming in frustration and impatiently expecting me to look for it.
- Hyperactivity: Much of this has decreased, but I'm beginning to notice a pattern that couldn't have been obvious when he acted hyper and impulsive all the time. Now it appears to be related to his diet, and we're making some small changes (agave nectar as a substitute for sugar, for example) and considering more significant changes (like significantly reducing carbohydrates in his diet).
We still have a way to go, but it's so exciting to see the changes in him. And we started taking my daughter to see Anna as well. She didn't have as many of the obvious reflex problems that her brother had, but she has had auditory processing and brain integration difficulties that have really interfered with her reading ability and memory. Since she started in September, she is beginning to read much better than before. She has another 3 weeks of "Listening Fitness Therapy," after which the auditory processing problem should be pretty much resolved. Perhaps I'll remember to update about that when she's done!
Oct. 24, 2009 - To Treat or Not To Treat
I wrote this a couple of years ago as a fun parody of Hamlet's famous soliloquy - it isn't meant to make any kind of judgement on whether or not we chose to participate in the activities of Halloween but simply to muse whimsically on the choice. I thought it might be worth posting again for your amusement. Enjoy!
To treat or not to treat -- that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The rings and knocks of outrageously-clad neighbors
Or to turn off the lights against a sea of begging
And by opposing end it. To hide, to flee --
No candy -- and by fleeing to say we end
The toothaches, and the thousand natural knocks
A door is disposed to. 'Tis a quietness
devoutly to be wished. To hide, to flee --
To flee -- perhaps to eat out: ay, there's the rub,
For in that escape from home what chance may come
When we have shuttled off in the minivan,
Must give us pause. There's the amusement
That makes savage such young lives.
For who would bear the nicks of pumpkin-carving knives,
Th' oppressive weight gain, the proud child's costume
The pangs of despised sugar, the delayed arrival,
The insolence of teens, and the forced thanks
That persistent merit of the giver takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a darkened porch light? Who would Snickers bear
To walk and walk under a heavy coat,
But for the dread of chill on an October night,
The carefully planned costume, now hidden,
No treat-donor guesses, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather compliment the unknown
Than offer them hot apple cider?
Thus conscience does make givers of us all,
And thus the expense of bags of candy
Is compensated with the sticky return of children.
And creative enterprise of the moment
With this regard our apples throw away
And lose the chance for health. Quick you now,
Fairy Princess, Knight, Mermaid, Pirate --
Be all my Skittles remembered.
(c) 2007, Karen Dittman
with apologies to Wm. Shakespeare.
Oct. 17, 2009 - The Laundry Poem
composed by my very clever and understanding husband as we sorted post-vacation laundry
Laundry, laundry, so much laundry -
This is my eternal quandary.
Some's been worn and some has not
(My children do forget a lot).
Down to wash and up to fold:
So does my whole life unfold.
Wash it now and wash it later.
I am the laundry elevator.
Oct. 12, 2009 - Lake Michigan
Holland State Park, Holland, Michigan
Holland State Park, Holland, Michigan
New Buffalo, Michigan
New Buffalo, Michigan
Thursday, October 1, 2009 - (Trying to) Get my act together for the holidays (again)...
So, in light of trying to "get my act together" ONCE AGAIN during the holidays, as I sit here writing this post, my printer is feverishly at work making my Holiday Planner that will give me some direction and guidance to the holiday season I've always dreamed of... or, at least, that's what I'm hoping for... tee hee...
I posted on this last year... and honestly, I even got some of it done, but "life" got out of control and I didn't do as well as I'd hoped... so, I'm at it again this year... giving it my best shot and another try knowing that if at first you don't succeed... TRY, TRY AGAIN! (Which is probably more of my "life verse"... tee hee)
If you struggle through the holidays, please feel free to join me by buying your own copy of Sheri Graham's Holiday Planner (which includes Ann Voskamp's Jesse Tree Devotional that I LOVE), or stop back here and read how things are going on my blog... maybe through some encouragement, we can make it through the holidays together!
Sep. 29, 2009 - Don't Miss This One
"Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it."
~Theodore Roosevelt, regarding the Grand Canyon
This week, we've been enjoying The National Parks, America's Best Idea, a film by Ken Burns on PBS. Totally worth your time, if you love the great outdoors. Now more than ever, I see the value of parks and am so thankful that a few people, long ago, saw to save some of America's best features.
Indiana is blessed to have a national forest, a lakeshore and one small national park, which offer Jr. Ranger Programs for which we are thankful. This summer our kids earned several patches and badges, learning much along the way. If you live near a park, you might consider this as it is a good hands on science program for free. (You know how I like free!) I think they even offer online options if you don't live near a park.
Swearing In Ceremony
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 23 days AFTER our move...
We still have a few boxes to take care of... Mike's "office" is in the living room as well as my homeschool boxes and books for everyone (which we had to downsize to only the essentials and the rest went into storage). Other than that, everything is unpacked in the house and functioning! (I will be sharing video soon.)
We have some things in storage that I would like to come into the house (some frames to hang of the kids and stuff) and one day I want to go and organize the storage shed (as things pretty much just got stacked in there since it was dark when we were unloading. That will be a good feeling when that's done and I really know where everything is (I bought hair dye before moving and with all the boxes at home unpacked, we STILL never found them so they MUST be in storage... another disadvantage to unloading a trailer at night... tee hee).
I had a "down day" yesterday, and I 'spose it was just because now that the house is more in order, there's less taking up my time (until we start school in October) and so the reality of knowing no one really set in and I was feeling alone (I know I'm never alone... but that's just how I felt). So, another day... another feeling... and I know it's all just a part of this very big experience we've been called to be a part of here in Detroit Lakes, MN!
The weather has been beautiful (which only adds to being on the lake) and Mike and I are enjoying having tea in the mornings on the deck. We're anxious for the next steps now as we begin to make plans and meet people in the area. Prayers are appreciated for those to come forward who will be a part of our launch team for the church plant.
We are currently working on the church website which will have more info. and keep everyone posted there as well. Thanks so much for all your prayers during our whole packing and moving process! Things are going better and we are all glad to finally be "home"!
You can read more about things in our VERY LATE September newsletter... (wonder what I've been doing? tee hee...)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Day 2: Releasing My Child into God's Hands
MY THOUGHTS on Stormie OMartian's "The Power of a Praying Parent"
Chapter 2: Releasing My Child into God's Hands
As I shared in my thoughts on the previous chapter, I really struggled with worry and fear when I first became a mom. Stormie shares in this chapter, that she too, worried after becoming a mom until she decided to give her son over to God completely:
...whenever I had fear about anything, I immediately took it as a sign to pray until I felt peace. If I didn't have peace right away, the I prayed about it with one or more prayer partners until I did. Daily I released my son to God and asked Him to be in charge of his life. This took the pressure off me and parenting became much more enjoyable. -Stormie OMartian (p.34)We only hinder what God has in store for our children when we "meddle" and try to hold on too tightly to our children. We can do it all "in the name of love"... but that's like saying we don't believe God loves our children more than us and knows what's best for them, even more than we do (which we know better).
We don't want to limit what God can do in our children by clutching them to ourselves and trying to parent them alone. If we're not positive that God is in control of our children's lives, we'll be ruled by fear. And the only way to be sure that God is in control is to surrender our hold and allow Him to full access to their lives. The way to do that is to live according to His Word and His ways and pray to Him about everything. We can trust God to take care of our children even better than we can. -Stormie OMartian (p.35)The reality is this:
We can't be everywhere. But God can. We can't see everything. But God can. We can't know everything. But God can. No matter what age our children are, releasing them into God's hands is a sign of our faith and trust in Him and is the first step toward making a difference in their lives. Prayer for our children begins there. -Stormie OMartian (p.36)Releasing our children may not always be easy... but there is no one we can trust more than the One who created our children in the womb!
Dear Heavenly Father, I give You my children again today. I know You know what's best for them in all circumstances, and even when I don't understand, I know You are always in control. When I cannot be with my children, I know You still are there and I take comfort in knowing that. Lord, please teach me how to pray for each one of my children. Each one is uniquely created by You for a purpose. Please help me to know how to help them grow in the gifts You have given them. I seek You to raise these children instead of listening to what the world may say about parenting. I chose to partner with You and ask that You are at the center of my husband and I as we parent and raise the children You've given us. Help us to raise them in a way that brings honor to You. I pray for parenting to bring joy and happiness instead of fear or worry. I trust You and rest in knowing that You love my children even more than I do. In Jesus' name, Amen.
It's not too late to join us as we pray for our children! You can check out more about it by clicking the following link: S.H.M.I.L.Y. for 30 days of prayer for praying parents... Please share a link to your blog post if you've made one on this chapter!
Sep. 23, 2009 - Autumn Thoughts
For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ~Edwin Way Teale
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