Miss Gerry is someone that is sweet and kind...no other words fit. She scared me a bit when I first met her because she is just so proper and nice. She also worked with Zach from the first moment on all aspects of his communication. As a parent it can be hard to watch your child go through these therapies in the beginning. You don't really get the therapist yet and it is sometimes painful to watch them make your child change the way they say and do things...even though it is for the better, you know it is hard for your child. Miss Gerry won me over pretty quickly. When Zach came to her he was starting to talk more and more on his own, but still had a lot of deficits in his speech and his communication. The summer Erin was born, 2007, he was very echolalic...most of his speech was repeating. By the time he met Miss Gerry in January he had been in preschool in Palmdale for a 5 months and had been at the speech school on base for 2 months. So the socializing was starting to make changes in his speech, but we had some big work to do. He was unable to answer questions. Still often referred to himself in the 3rd person. Didn't answer yes or no questions past they yes or no. Very simple phrases were the majority of his speech.
Miss Gerry was amazing for several reason. I loved her patience and sweetness with Zach. She seemed to get him right away and saw things in him that it usually took other people a while to notice. She always was willing to adjust and adapt to help him be comfortable and to learn the most. She pushed him, but knew when to stop and give him a break. She truely cared about him and he about her. She gave us so much....she literally showed me and taught me ways to play with him. Funny to say that since you should know how to play with a child, but I had to learn a new way to play with Zach that made him want to play with him and initiated speech in the play. She gave me insights and pointed me in the direction of different things to try. She was always supportive and understanding. She noticed how smart he was right away and has been blown away with the things he can learn and how much he can grasp.
Tonight was hard. I know it is a good time for us to leave and we are going to bigger and better things in so many ways. Leaving people that have meant so much to us is very difficult. I am so thankful to her and all she has given to us. I gave her a photo of him in his cap and gown from his school picture...one day I plan to send his one from high school and then college. She will be so proud. I hope we are blessed with more Miss Gerry's in our future...
Zach and Miss Gerry playing....
The three of us...if you wanted to know where I was every Wednesday night for the past year and a half...well there it is!
You can tell they love each other! She will be deeply missed...
1 comment:
What a blessing to have a woman like Miss Gerry in Zach's life...that is funny, because I have a friend I call Miss Terry, and she reminds me a lot of how you described Miss Gerry. Hopefully you will find many more such people in the future...
Post a Comment