I read this article today and it spoke to me....if you are so inclined read it and let me know what you think.
Due to baby boy's prematurity he qualifies for all sorts of specialists to come to our home and help him. One day the speech therapist heard my 3 year old daughter speak and informed me she was WAY behind and needed to be enrolled in a specialized preschool that is 4 days a week either half or full day depending on what they determine her severity is.
I recognize she is behind in speech and I am all for speech therapy and think preschool is great....but that seems excessive for my 3 year old. I don't know that taking her away from me that many hours a week is going to improve her speech. There are so many other things that she needs to learn at home more than she needs intense intervention for speech. She needs to be home and play with her baby brother whom she adores, she needs to sit at the table and play pink and purple playdoh for hours, she needs to "play tea" with Mommy and read story after story after story. She will miss out on that if she is gone from home for hours a day. I am currently looking into getting her therapy a couple of times a week for an hour at a time. I do believe a parents job is to prepare their children for success in life and communicating properly is part of that preparation.
I realize there are children who need intense intervention and who benefit greatly and I think that is necessary . Every family and child is different...I am not saying my choice is a blanket statement for all. But for my sweet girl and for my family I am certain this is a correct decision in spite of the "experts" telling me different. I am standing up as the expert on my daughter and saying NO to her being away from me for that long! As Moms we have the responsiblity to make decisions for our children that the "experts" may criticize and do not understand. But if we do it under the direction of the spirit and follow our instinct we are following our God given gift as Mothers.
7 comments:
I agree with you. I think you are wise in regards to your daughter's speech and I loved that article!).
When my kids turn four, they get to go to a short 2 day-a-week preschool, but only if it is actually beneficial for them. I worried at first if that was "enough" until some first grade teachers and my mom (who teaches second grade) told me that too many kids are academically pushed ahead before they can emotionally handle it. It's actually okay for kids to progress at an average pace! Who'd of thunk, eh?
My kids have all done preschool and I think there it can be a good thing....just felt like this one was too much for her. I am sure we will do preschool with her in the future a couple of days a week She is a homebody and wants nothing more than to be with Mom and baby brother. She does go play with a couple of friends occasionally but she is so content to be home with me and play with me and brother.
Completely agree with you! 4 days a week for half or full days seems incredibly excessive to me. I'm sure that some intervention can be helpful and you'll be able to find a sufficient program that is much less time for her to be away from you. But honestly, all that great Mommy time and fun play time with Drew will definitely be the biggest benefit to her well being. I'm confident she will catch up in no time. Those first 5 years together are precious so just do what you do best...enjoy her and not worry :)
That same thing happen to both my nephew & neice. My neice was three and not talking at all. She was evaluated and put into an elementary school pre-k program, she goes half days - gets picked up & dropped off from their doorstep by the bus, mon-thurs and her speech (or lack thereof) has done a 180. But I firmly agree no two families and situation is alike and only mother's know best.
WOW! Good for you - that's incredible to me that the "experts" would think a child so young would be able to process that much "intervention." I believe so strongly that the Lord gives us mothers the gift of discernment to know what our children need. Thanks for sharing this experience to give the rest of us the encouragement to have confidence in our own promptings.
Zack has gone to the early intervention program for the last two years. He went for speech delay. It's only 2 and a half hours out of a day that they are in school. It isn't a "half day". I personally have found the program to be excellent. He in fact got released from speech in November because he had completely caught up. I think that every situation is different. Zack LOVES going to school, and has had very good experiences with it. Yes, I felt like he was SOOO little when he started the program. It was definately harder for me to let him go than it was for him to go. I think the benefits of him going (in my case) have far outweighed any concerns about him being away from home for just a couple hours 4 times a week. He still has plenty of time to play with his baby brother, and watch a favorite show on PBS, and play some board games, play with legos, etc. Every day he asks me how many more minutes until his bus comes to take him to school. I usually have to tell him to quit asking so often, as sometimes he will do it every 5 minutes! THAT is how much he loves the program! When he gets home he tells us all about what he learned and the fun things they did, and then he continues to play with baby brother, fight with big brother, and be a kid. Just my two cents...
Hannah was way behind in speech when she was three. Luckily I have a good friend who is a speech therapist, who told me she would be fine. Now that she's 4 1/2 she is caught up and never stops talking. When she was three Sarah went to a private speech therapist once a week, and we worked daily at home. It was great for her. I loved the time together.
Mother does know best, and I seek out medical professionals who believe this too.
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