The Literal Child

Yesterday, I trotted off to the doctor's office for Garett's appointment with all four of my little ones. When we pulled into the doctor's office, I went over the "rules" of acceptable behavior..."no running, always listen, "Chandler, calm down", you know....THAT speech! Thankfully, we didn't have to wait real long in the waiting room as that can be a challenge when there is one little desk and about four books plus 4 little kids!

Then the nurse called Garett's name, so we all headed back to the exam room.. First, Garett was weighed and he weighs 44 lbs. Then, the nurse took his height and he is 44 inches tall. So, he really is as wide as he is tall?! As we entered the exam room, the children immediately found the children's books and were entertaining themselves. Then our doctor came in, whom all our children adore by the way, and chatted with Garett. She drew some shapes and had Garett identify them, in which he did fine. Then she asked Garett if he knew what opposites where. Garett looked a little confused, so she told him, "Garett, if something is up and then falls, it comes down,  up and down". Garett nodded enthusiastically and then she asked him, "In and ?", Garett replied, "Out".  She then said, "Day and what?" Garett's prompt response was, "Bedtime!". We chuckled and then she said, "Ok, bedtime or night and ?". Garett's response, "Time to get up!".  "Ok, moving on,", said the doctor smiling at Garett. "What about stop and ?". Garett immediately replied, "Green!" Out of about 10 opposites, Garett did get about 6 right, so he is fine for his age category. Garett has struggled with speech for some time now, and it was a blessing to see how he is progressing. God has blessed us with this very special child who loves life, enjoys laughing and struggles with speech and school.

When Garett was about 2, we realized that his speech was delayed. He said very few words, and those he did were very hard to understand. He was assessed by the birth to three program and we had a speech lesson once a week. He was making progress, but oh, so slowly! Half the time, his younger brother, Chandler would tell us what he wanted. When Garett turned three, he starting attending speech lessons with a speech pathologist in our area. She was patient and understanding and Garett began to blossom. Over the last year, he has exploded with words, phrases, and complete sentences and stories! I love seeing the progress he has made, but often find that this child needs a little extra encouragement in school based activities. His younger brother is very quick in book learning and since they are not quite 17 months apart, Garett can get easily frustrated by school. I know that God has a very special plan for all of my children, and I am learning to encourage him to keep trying and always do your best.

Our struggles with Garett's speech has taught us many things. One, that God has gifted each of my children with different strengths  and weaknesses...and sometimes, it is challenging to help each child understand that it's okay to not be good at everything, but we should always do our best. Secondly, God knows exactly how far apart my children are spaced, and it is no surprise to Him that Garett struggles with book learning. There are many more things, but my post is getting long. Perhaps, someone else has a child that struggles in an area. How do you encourage your child?
Blessings on your day, Sarah