I haven't really mentioned it much, but Ethan was diagnosed with Expressive Language Delays.
Expressive language disorder is characterized by a child having difficulty expressing him- or herself using speech. The signs and symptoms vary drastically from child to child. The child does not have problems with the pronunciation of words, as occurs in phonological disorder (which he also has). The child does have problems putting sentences together coherently, using proper grammar, recalling the appropriate word to use, or other similar problems. A child with expressive language disorder is not able to communicate thoughts, needs, or wants at the same level or with the same complexity as his or her peers. The child often has a smaller vocabulary than his or her peers.
Children with expressive language disorder have the same ability to understand speech as their peers, and have the same level of intelligence. Therefore, a child with this disorder may understand words that he or she cannot use in sentences. The child may understand complex spoken sentences and be able to carry out intricate instructions, although he or she cannot form complex sentences.
There are many different ways in which expressive language disorder can manifest itself. Some children do not properly use pronouns, or leave out functional words such as "is" or "the." Other children cannot recall words that they want to use in the sentence and substitute general words such as "thing" or "stuff." Some children cannot organize their sentences so that the sentences are easy to understand. These children do comprehend the material they are trying to express—they just cannot create the appropriate sentences with which to express their thoughts.
Ethan's expressive problems show themselves when he tries to retell a story...it sometimes gets jumbled, unintelligeable and ends in him saying "I don't know, or just forget about it" and giving up on finishing the story. He also a hard time with narration. For example, ask him to make up a sentence about any subject (ie. ladybugs) and the sentence will have many grammatical errors, improper sentence structure, improper use of words and verbs will be used in incorrect tense. This isn't all the time, but it's more often than a 6 year old should have.
Ethan's Phonological Disorder is seen with the pronunciation of many words. For example, he'll say "puter" instead of computer, or instead of saying "behave" he'll say "have". Instead of protect he'll say "tect".
We have been in therapies since he was 6 months old for various activities, but we've just recently started more intense speech therapy sessions. His therapist comes to the house 2x per week for 30 minutes. She is seeing a noticeable improvement, but she gingerly tells me that we still have a very long way to go. She also wants him to get tested for Auditory Processing Disorder, in which a licensed Audiologist administers a series of tests to determine if he is processing the sounds that he hears correctly.
The hardest part of all of this is that many of these kids, like Ethan, are VERY bright, this has no bearing on their intelligence level, but unfortunately they "sound" like they are not as bright because of their processing and communication issues. In traditional school many of these kids are labeled and school becomes a place of torment, luckily, I'll be schooling him at home so there will be no "labels" or ridicule.
Of course the devil is constantly trying to wear at me, telling me that I am no where capable to teach him, since I'm not a speech pathologist. But then I have to constantly remind myself that if Ethan were in regular school he would be sent outside of the classroom for 30 minutes at most to work with the school therapist, and he'd spend the remainder of his day in his classroom with 18+ other children trying to figure his way to success. The teacher most definitely wouldn't be able to cater to his needs one on one like I'll be able to.
The developmental form of expressive language disorder generally has a good prognosis. Most children develop normal or nearly normal language skills by high school. In some cases, minor problems with expressive language may never resolve. The acquired type of expressive language disorder (which is what Ethan probably has due to his stroke while in utero)has a prognosis that depends on the nature and location of the brain injury. Some people get their language skills back over days or months. For others it takes years, and some people never fully recover expressive language function. This is the part that scares me the most!
If you would, please add Ethan to your prayer list. Pray that he will overcome this. Pray that he will defy the odds. Pray that Ethan will have a love of learning. Pray that Ethan will have great self esteem and self confidence. Pray that he will not see himself as "delayed" or behind, or not good enough. Pray for our family as we continue to work with him. Pray for me as his mom and teacher. Pray that I will have the discernment to know when to push him to the level I know he is capable of while being sensitive to his limitations he has no control over due to this disorder.
Thank you so much.
Expressive language disorder is characterized by a child having difficulty expressing him- or herself using speech. The signs and symptoms vary drastically from child to child. The child does not have problems with the pronunciation of words, as occurs in phonological disorder (which he also has). The child does have problems putting sentences together coherently, using proper grammar, recalling the appropriate word to use, or other similar problems. A child with expressive language disorder is not able to communicate thoughts, needs, or wants at the same level or with the same complexity as his or her peers. The child often has a smaller vocabulary than his or her peers.
Children with expressive language disorder have the same ability to understand speech as their peers, and have the same level of intelligence. Therefore, a child with this disorder may understand words that he or she cannot use in sentences. The child may understand complex spoken sentences and be able to carry out intricate instructions, although he or she cannot form complex sentences.
There are many different ways in which expressive language disorder can manifest itself. Some children do not properly use pronouns, or leave out functional words such as "is" or "the." Other children cannot recall words that they want to use in the sentence and substitute general words such as "thing" or "stuff." Some children cannot organize their sentences so that the sentences are easy to understand. These children do comprehend the material they are trying to express—they just cannot create the appropriate sentences with which to express their thoughts.
Ethan's expressive problems show themselves when he tries to retell a story...it sometimes gets jumbled, unintelligeable and ends in him saying "I don't know, or just forget about it" and giving up on finishing the story. He also a hard time with narration. For example, ask him to make up a sentence about any subject (ie. ladybugs) and the sentence will have many grammatical errors, improper sentence structure, improper use of words and verbs will be used in incorrect tense. This isn't all the time, but it's more often than a 6 year old should have.
Ethan's Phonological Disorder is seen with the pronunciation of many words. For example, he'll say "puter" instead of computer, or instead of saying "behave" he'll say "have". Instead of protect he'll say "tect".
We have been in therapies since he was 6 months old for various activities, but we've just recently started more intense speech therapy sessions. His therapist comes to the house 2x per week for 30 minutes. She is seeing a noticeable improvement, but she gingerly tells me that we still have a very long way to go. She also wants him to get tested for Auditory Processing Disorder, in which a licensed Audiologist administers a series of tests to determine if he is processing the sounds that he hears correctly.
The hardest part of all of this is that many of these kids, like Ethan, are VERY bright, this has no bearing on their intelligence level, but unfortunately they "sound" like they are not as bright because of their processing and communication issues. In traditional school many of these kids are labeled and school becomes a place of torment, luckily, I'll be schooling him at home so there will be no "labels" or ridicule.
Of course the devil is constantly trying to wear at me, telling me that I am no where capable to teach him, since I'm not a speech pathologist. But then I have to constantly remind myself that if Ethan were in regular school he would be sent outside of the classroom for 30 minutes at most to work with the school therapist, and he'd spend the remainder of his day in his classroom with 18+ other children trying to figure his way to success. The teacher most definitely wouldn't be able to cater to his needs one on one like I'll be able to.
The developmental form of expressive language disorder generally has a good prognosis. Most children develop normal or nearly normal language skills by high school. In some cases, minor problems with expressive language may never resolve. The acquired type of expressive language disorder (which is what Ethan probably has due to his stroke while in utero)has a prognosis that depends on the nature and location of the brain injury. Some people get their language skills back over days or months. For others it takes years, and some people never fully recover expressive language function. This is the part that scares me the most!
If you would, please add Ethan to your prayer list. Pray that he will overcome this. Pray that he will defy the odds. Pray that Ethan will have a love of learning. Pray that Ethan will have great self esteem and self confidence. Pray that he will not see himself as "delayed" or behind, or not good enough. Pray for our family as we continue to work with him. Pray for me as his mom and teacher. Pray that I will have the discernment to know when to push him to the level I know he is capable of while being sensitive to his limitations he has no control over due to this disorder.
Thank you so much.
4 comments:
consider it done! :)
Thanks Jen...that means a lot to me! :)
Count me in too Tiff!! Big hugs to Ethan. Missy
God has a plan - don't worry, with all your love and prayers - and His Healing Power ... need I say more?
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