Communication and stubbornness
“CasssWEEEper,” he says, almost yelling it at us, and then waits.
But we don’t get it, and Charley stands there with his arms crossed.
“Think, think, think,” he says, like, you numb-skulls. (He does this when he doesn’t know the right words to say.) …
Brad and I both chuckle because what else are you going to do when your sixteen-year-old is desperate for you to understand a word you’ve never heard before? It’s one of the hazards of raising a special needs child who struggles with speech. He’s gotten much better over the years, but there are still times when we wish Rosetta Stone would appear like a genie and spell out the words in a puff of smoke. He mixes his l’s with his d’s, and his r’s with his w’s. p. 112
Does your child have his/her own language? Can strangers generally understand? Has your child expressed frustration at not being understood?
Charley never gives up. Ever. Once something is in his brain he brings it up, over and over. And over. Congress has nothing on Charley. He can filibuster with the best of them, and it looks as if this will be one of those times. p. 116
Does your child have a stubborn streak? What kinds of things does he/she obsess over? Have you learned any tricks to re-direct him/her when this happens?
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