FrançaisWhy I love the Montessori education model When Jude was 18 months, he was delayed in his development. Because his only peer model was Charlie, his severely autistic big brother, he…
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Why I love the Montessori education model When Jude was 18 months, he was delayed in his development. Because his only peer model was Charlie, his severely autistic big brother, he…
![Repost but I needed to read this today and figured you might too. 💕
Charlie,
Today was one of those days. We got the results back from your PPCD speech assessment. They evaluated your ability to communicate. If your delays in speech and communication were significant enough, you’d be eligible to attend the special-needs classroom. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that you would qualify. Still, it hit me kinda hard when the speech therapist called back with the results. You scored in the 1st and 2nd percentiles for the two speech and communication tests. The bottom of the scale. “The gap is quite severe,” she said.
You know what Charlie? Those tests are stupid. Albert Einstein said, “If you judge a fish by its inability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” I wish they would have evaluated your amazing ability to sort objects by size and color! I wish they’d evaluate your creativity when playing with blocks and the shapes you make. I wish they would evaluate your ability to make high towers and be so delicate when doing so. I wish they would evaluate your great taste in music.
Your inability to communicate and speak doesn’t define you. Autism doesn’t define you. You are unique, and you can do so much more than they saw at first glance. Let’s just forget about the numbers and focus on what you can do. I have a feeling that one day you will show them—one day you will tell them what you can really do. [ My book available for pre-order. Link in bio.]](http://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/57366d2d3a864ee153e2a405434979e6/5CE866EE/t51.2885-15/e35/c180.0.720.720/s320x320/51405675_396830034218538_4030216552650598830_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com "Repost but I needed to read this today and figured you might too. 💕
Charlie,
Today was one of those days. We got the results back from your PPCD speech assessment. They evaluated your ability to communicate. If your delays in speech and communication were significant enough, you’d be eligible to attend the special-needs classroom. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that you would qualify. Still, it hit me kinda hard when the speech therapist called back with the results. You scored in the 1st and 2nd percentiles for the two speech and communication tests. The bottom of the scale. “The gap is quite severe,” she said.
You know what Charlie? Those tests are stupid. Albert Einstein said, “If you judge a fish by its inability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” I wish they would have evaluated your amazing ability to sort objects by size and color! I wish they’d evaluate your creativity when playing with blocks and the shapes you make. I wish they would evaluate your ability to make high towers and be so delicate when doing so. I wish they would evaluate your great taste in music.
Your inability to communicate and speak doesn’t define you. Autism doesn’t define you. You are unique, and you can do so much more than they saw at first glance. Let’s just forget about the numbers and focus on what you can do. I have a feeling that one day you will show them—one day you will tell them what you can really do. [ My book available for pre-order. Link in bio.]")
![Now that Jude is 3, he’s been asking a lot of questions about Charlie. Mommy, why Charlie doesn’t want to play with me? Why Charlie can’t talk? Why Charlie has autism?
I don’t know that I’ve found a good answer to his questions yet. What does autism even mean to a 3-year-old? Probably not much. I’ve explained to Jude that Charlie has different abilities and needs than other kids and that he does love him even though he doesn’t say it. That seemed to make sense to him, at least a little. I’ve seen Jude say “I love you” to Charlie, and after being met by silence, whisper to himself “I love you too, Jude” pretending the words came from Charlie. Jude is such a sensitive boy. He loves Charlie unconditionally. No matter how many times Charlie pushes him away, Jude always forgives him. “It’s okay, Charlie has autism. That’s why he doesn’t want a hug”... 💕 [My book is available for pre-order/Link in bio]](http://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/05a688d70aa224e9793af30ada1bb9d9/5D225813/t51.2885-15/e35/c110.0.860.860/s320x320/51021880_118223365936934_6145706230641208403_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com "Now that Jude is 3, he’s been asking a lot of questions about Charlie. Mommy, why Charlie doesn’t want to play with me? Why Charlie can’t talk? Why Charlie has autism?
I don’t know that I’ve found a good answer to his questions yet. What does autism even mean to a 3-year-old? Probably not much. I’ve explained to Jude that Charlie has different abilities and needs than other kids and that he does love him even though he doesn’t say it. That seemed to make sense to him, at least a little. I’ve seen Jude say “I love you” to Charlie, and after being met by silence, whisper to himself “I love you too, Jude” pretending the words came from Charlie. Jude is such a sensitive boy. He loves Charlie unconditionally. No matter how many times Charlie pushes him away, Jude always forgives him. “It’s okay, Charlie has autism. That’s why he doesn’t want a hug”... 💕 [My book is available for pre-order/Link in bio]")
