Warning this post is going to contain an excessive amount of exclamation marks. It is bound to be irritating. Forgive me, I am very excited!!
Jonas spoke at school today!!!!!!
To another kid!!!!!
He even read his book aloud to him!!!!!!
I was thrilled yesterday when he was willing to speak to me in front of a teacher's aide while we had a game of Beetle.
It was a massive break through and I was amazed at how quickly he progressed from whispering into my ear to speaking with a normal talking voice. He wasn't ready to address her directly but he was willing to let her hear him speak. On top of that he also spoke aloud in front of our gorgeous chiropractor during his afternoon appointment.
I couldn't wait to get back to school with him today to see if he could do it again. He did!!! But better!!
He moved from whispering to speaking very quickly today, even though there was an addition of a school friend. I had expected him to need to go back to whispering for a few sessions until he became accustomed to the idea of speaking in front of a friend, but he did it within minutes. I left them all to play for 20 minutes to see how they would go without me and returned to find them all chatting and laughing. Jonas had progressed to speaking directly to the aide and his friend within the 1 hour session. When I took him back to the classroom to help in reading groups, he was comfortable enough to read aloud to his friend and I, and to chat about the story too. It was soon the talk of the classroom as the other kids realised that Jonas had spoken out loud. He wasn't embarrassed, like he would normally be, he was beaming with pride- and so was I!
He is finally ready to do it. The relief I feel today is immense.
The program and support from The Selective Mutism Clinic is the reason for his success. I am posting this because we searched for so long to find help for our beautiful boy and I really hope that spreading the word makes it easier for the next family who need the support. The process we are using is called 'sliding- in' and here is some extra info if you want to know more.
I am so grateful that I have been able to take a break from work to do this with Joe. The progress has been so quick because I have been able to be there every day. In fact I came and went 3 times today to work around the timetable.
Happy, happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jonas spoke at school today!!!!!!
To another kid!!!!!
He even read his book aloud to him!!!!!!
I was thrilled yesterday when he was willing to speak to me in front of a teacher's aide while we had a game of Beetle.
It was a massive break through and I was amazed at how quickly he progressed from whispering into my ear to speaking with a normal talking voice. He wasn't ready to address her directly but he was willing to let her hear him speak. On top of that he also spoke aloud in front of our gorgeous chiropractor during his afternoon appointment.
I couldn't wait to get back to school with him today to see if he could do it again. He did!!! But better!!
He moved from whispering to speaking very quickly today, even though there was an addition of a school friend. I had expected him to need to go back to whispering for a few sessions until he became accustomed to the idea of speaking in front of a friend, but he did it within minutes. I left them all to play for 20 minutes to see how they would go without me and returned to find them all chatting and laughing. Jonas had progressed to speaking directly to the aide and his friend within the 1 hour session. When I took him back to the classroom to help in reading groups, he was comfortable enough to read aloud to his friend and I, and to chat about the story too. It was soon the talk of the classroom as the other kids realised that Jonas had spoken out loud. He wasn't embarrassed, like he would normally be, he was beaming with pride- and so was I!
He is finally ready to do it. The relief I feel today is immense.
The program and support from The Selective Mutism Clinic is the reason for his success. I am posting this because we searched for so long to find help for our beautiful boy and I really hope that spreading the word makes it easier for the next family who need the support. The process we are using is called 'sliding- in' and here is some extra info if you want to know more.
I am so grateful that I have been able to take a break from work to do this with Joe. The progress has been so quick because I have been able to be there every day. In fact I came and went 3 times today to work around the timetable.
Happy, happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So exciting! I have a little tear in my eye. Definitely worth of MANY exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh Alison you are so sweet xx Sorry to say it but I am a bit glad that I didn't go out for a coffee with friends instead. I actually think there are a few spots where I could have added an extra exclamation mark or two.
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