I originally
sent my youngest child to public school, when he was in grade three, because I
was beginning to believe that my efforts to teach him were being met with too
much resistance and not enough success.
While he was at school, his teacher telephoned me one day to tell me she
suspected a learning disability; she thought I should begin researching
Nonverbal learning as a very real possibility.
After crying
with disappointment and breathing a huge sigh of revelatory relief and many
years of research, I was told about NILD therapy, and urged to make
application, myself, to become a therapist.
Though I have not formally had my youngest son tested yet (but plan to
do so this year), I can see how we have both reaped huge, life-changing
benefits already, after only one year of therapy. Where he once was frustrated over tightly
tying his shoelaces, writing in cursive, following multiple-stepped directions
and making small talk with strangers, he now excels; no, he thrives! Years of discouragement have been replaced
with new days of joy.
As
homeschoolers, we enjoyed incredible flexibility in our schedules, sleeping and
eating patterns and were able to prepare ourselves, (yes, both of us!) for
beginning high school. So far, so
great. We are continuing therapy because
we have seen firsthand that it works. Tutoring
only seemed to prolong the agony of “busy work” whereas therapy has meaning,
both during the technique, and afterward, as my son applies the skills of a
newly awakened brain to schoolwork, socializing, cleaning his room and planning
his weekly activities around homework etc.
In short, educational therapy is giving us our lives back, one session at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment