inclusion

[Guest guest]

Barbara asked what I told my son when he asked me " Why I talk different " ?

I have to say I admit I was very unprepared. My heart sank to the floor.

My middle son had just asked for an apple and as Jack does alot he tried to

immitate my son and ask for one too. Then that's when he asked why he

speaks differently. I asked him who he speaks differently from, " your

brother? " . He said " no " . I said " me? " . He said no. I said " Jordan? " (his

friend from typical preschool). He said " yes " That's what broke my heart.

He knew he spoke differently than his friends. Anyhow I told him he is

learning to speak and everybody has different things that are harder for

them. That kind of thing. But you know what everyone, he didnt buy it. He

didnt care if other people had to work hard at other things, he just cared

that he speaks differently. Thankfully my son is a very confident boy. I

do see him shy away from speaking to some people. And he will refrain from

speaking words that donot come easily to him to others.

But on that note, I must vent. Why is it that adults feel it is okay to

think that a child's articulation errors are cute and they could imitate

them and speak back to them in the child's language? I never know what to

do in this situtation. My child might not be able to articulate his sounds

correctly but he hears them just fine. If anyone has any ideas of how to

tell a child about their battle with language in a very special way, I too

would love any ideas. Deborah