Niagara, A New School Year, Fall Fun and a new SLP

Wow, I'm WAY behind on blogging...AGAIN.  Doing some catch up today...

Niagara Falls
As summer was winding down, we decided to take a spontaneous trip to Canada with the kids to see
Niagara Falls.  We were planning to go last year, but after Johnny's knee surgery we decided that probably wasn't the best plan.  Although not their first trip outside the US (we took a Bermuda cruise when they were 1 and 2), it was the first one they really remembered. It was fun to see all the differences in a "foreign" country despite Canada being very similar.  We showed them different money, the streets signs using different measurements, and of course the accents!  We got an amazing room overlooking the falls and did all the usual touristy things.  The kids had a great time and it's definitely a fun family memory.

School is Well Underway!
This is Reagan's last year at Potowmack Elementary School and has Mrs. King-Woerner.  I'm
realizing that with 5th grade comes many fun opportunities not offered to younger students.  The first was that Reagan was chosen to be one of three students to star on the morning news show!  So she presented the news over video broadcast into all the classrooms or manned the teleprompter every morning for about 6 weeks and then the baton was handed to another team.  She was asked if she wanted to return, and of course is very excited about starting back in December for another 6 weeks.  She was also given the opportunity to apply to be a Leadership Mentor.  This involves going to a kindergarten class for about 8 weeks to help them in the classroom.  Again, this has been something that Reagan really enjoys.  She is also participating with the Battle of the Books again - she reads one book (selected by the librarian) each month for 6 months and meets with other 5th graders to discuss what they learned and draft questions about the book.  In February, the 5th grade will "battle" the 4th grade to
see who can answer the most questions correctly.  Last year she participated as a 4th grader and they won!  Let's hope she can keep up the winning streak.  It is such a creative way to make reading fun.  And lastly, she tried out for a part in the 5th grade play and will be playing an alley cat in the Disney production of Aristocats next week.  They have been practicing every Monday and Wednesday after school for 2 hours since the beginning of September.  She is very excited!  After a tough 4th grade year, it's fun to see her volunteering/applying for all these activities. It has provided her additional opportunities to show areas of strength amidst all the struggles she feels she is having.

This year has been amazing so far - she has a great teacher and the accommodations that were put in place through her IEP really seem to be helping her.  She has also been working with a private tutor through Illuminos for about 8 weeks now who is focused on the executive functioning piece of how we learn. Helping her develop better strategies for learning and finding ways to help her memorize her content.

The goal of school is learning.  So every parent must ask themselves, what does MY child need to learn.  A blind child needs braille.  A child who can not walk needs a wheel chair to access the classroom. You would NEVER think to withhold these tools to students who need them.  Similarly, how many of you read a map to get to a new destination?  Probably very few.  Many of us listen to Waze to provide directions.  Alexa reads me my weather every day.  More people every day listen to books during their long commute into the city.  I am realizing that while we TALK about different learning styles, it is important to really embrace them and seek out opportunities.  I've recently been introduced to the concept of "ear reading" - never thought about that before. Sighted people (non blind) generally "eye read".  But more and more people are using "ear reading" to learn.  Cole, although learning Braille, prefers "ear reading" using digital content on his iPad so he can see images and enlarge them but also rely on the sound of the person reading when his eyes fatigue.  We are learning that children with Dyslexia often learn better through ear reading as well.  One of Reagan's accommodations is a "read aloud" to ensure she is able to understand test questions and therefore be tested on her ability to know the information, not have it held against her that the Dyslexia makes it difficult to read the question.  She is having a great year - she feels positive about learning and we are finding ways to help her that allow her to see how smart she is!  This is such a blessing.

Cole is now in 3rd grade and was very excited to find out he has Reagan's teacher from 3rd grade, Mrs. Sherry.  He's having a great year with very good grades and better classroom regulation.  He has made a few new friends and is always willing to share in class.  His Braille instruction has continued this year with twice weekly for 30 min.  We made the decision to reduce that from 45 min to limit the amount of class instruction he is missing.  Unfortunately the number of Teachers of the Visually Impaired still has a shortage in Loudoun County so he TVI travels an hour between schools and therefore can only provide instruction certain days/times which prevents us from being able to control what subjects he is missing during that instruction.

Fall Fun 
On a fun note, Cole decided to have his birthday party at Dulles Airport.  It was so much fun - held in the terminal and the team there did such a great job.  Lots of fun airplane related activities including a demonstration from a drug sniffing dog and his carrier.  The kids got to watch the dog find the suspicious package, hide the package and see her find it and of course pet her after her work was done.

Cole also decided he wanted to do soccer again, so he took another skills class at Dulles Sports Plex.  He had a great time running around and meeting new friends.

Reagan decided she wanted to try travel lacrosse for the Fall so she tried out for the Cavaliers, based in Leesburg.  She made the team and had a lot of fun playing in three
tournaments this Fall.  We learned a lot about the tournament circuit...to include that parking is always a challenge, the food truck line is always really long, a cart is a must especially when you sign up to bring water and being warm is really important when you're sitting around between games for a long time.  Reagan also decided she wanted to get more serious about playing goalie (like her dad).  So she was goalie about half the time and is having fun picking up new skills...in addition to some bruises!  It was such a great experience though and she met a really good group of girls.

Speech/Language (SLP) Evaluation
One of the outcomes from the neuropsyc evaluation in July was a recommendation for a Speech and Language Evaluation based on numerous difficulties that were evident in the testing both from the neuropsyc and the educational testing at school.  I called for that appointment in July, Reagan finally got on the schedule to take the evaluation in October, and finally received the report last week.  The findings indicate that she has both a receptive and expressive language disorder that includes weakness in working memory which causes challenge in recalling sentences; phonological awareness; abstract thinking and auditory cohesion which is required to make inferences, deductions and abstractions to understand the meaning of passages.  While this is very concerning, it explains a lot of what we've been concerned about.  And while concerning, the good news is that Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing was able to get her on their schedule and she starts today!  Getting an appointment quickly for an SLP in our area is UNHEARD of...so while she isn't necessarily excited about it, I'm looking forward to seeing if they can build the strategies with her to understand how to help with receptive and expressive language.  It's just one more step in a large puzzle called life!  Her session went well today and she really liked Courtney so it's a great start!  I look forward to learning more about tactics we can build into our study habits.

And with that, I'm off to enjoy a few days with family to give thanks for everything good in our lives.  It's easy to focus too much on the challenges, but this time of year always reminds us to be thankful for everything that is right in the world.  I am thankful for a year without hospitalizations.  A year without any seizures.  A year without a shunt revision.  I am thankful for a year of answers and understanding.  And I'm thankful to soon move into next year and hopefully one that brings as many blessings as this one.  To all my friends and family, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving surrounded by the love and kindness.