I was driving my daughter home for a weekend visit from college. As we were driving she said to me, "Oh yeah!
I was suppose to be doing work for Habitat for Humanity this weekend, but it was cancelled." I then inquired why it
was cancelled. Francesca said, "Well mom, it was cancelled because of the pending tsunami."
Me: "Honey, do you know what a tsunami is?"
Francesca: (Very indignantly) "MOM! Of course I know what a tsunami is!!"
Me: "Francesca, where was the Habitat for Humanity project suppose to take place?"
Francesca: "Chester"
Me: "As in Cheser, Pennsylvania?"
Francesca: "Yeah."
Me: "Honey, I don't think you can have a tsunami in Chester for a variety of reasons but the most important one
being that Chester is not located near an ocean."
We were both laughing at this point because Francesca was well aware that she clearly did not know what a tsunami was
- but was using a word in the wrong context. Francesca is my older child. She came into this world much more gracefully
than her brother (giuliano) and was able to "conceal" many of her struggles from her teachers - because she is such an over-achiever.
Francesca was & is one of the most assertive students I have ever had the pleasure to witness. Self-advocacy is
no stranger to her - especially at university level of academia.
I share this brief story with you because language processing issues present themselves in many ways. Like
Giuliano, Francesca has/had some differences to deal with and compensate for. However, she is what we strive for in
the sense that we want our children (especially our children with learning differences) to ask for what they need & want
in order to succeed. Francesca lets others know what works for her and what doesn't. She has experimented with
a variety of study skills strategies in order to find what is efficient & effective for her. However, someone needs
to offer you those tools in order for you to experiment.
Francesca is willing to "risk" trying out vocabulary to see if it fits. Many children with reading & writing
challenges, also have issues with vocabulary. In our one-on-one and small group sessions, we will explore language &
words. How they work with one another - how we can create rules to help us remember decoding/encoding/usage. If
you're lucky, your child will be willing to become a tsunami too:)
Remember - the instruction created & provided will be as individualized & unique
as your child's handprint...regardless of their age.
