Speech therapist, occupational therapy, and new challenges

So, a few years have passed since I wrote the last post...

And a lot has happened since then...

Alongside Noam's diagnosis when he was in first grade, I was asked by Matan's preschool teacher (pre-kindergarten) to take him for a speech and occupational therapy evaluation at the child development department of the health clinic.

You’ve already figured out that I’m a mom who cooperates with the staff, right?! So, of course, I scheduled an appointment.

I’ll keep it brief and say that Matan was diagnosed with retrieval difficulties. What is that? Let me explain...

Imagine a city library where all the books are neatly arranged on shelves, categorized and well-organized, so that when you need a book or specific information, you simply "retrieve" it from its designated place...

Now imagine a tornado swept through and turned the entire library into one big mess. When you need that information, you have no way to "retrieve" it. At best, you take a deep breath, reorganize everything, and find what you need. In Matan’s case, he couldn’t retrieve the information when needed, and so every time he was required to speak and explain himself, he would have a "tantrum." It took time to understand that his tantrums stemmed from frustration and an inability to express himself in words. So, what do you do? Weekly sessions with a speech therapist who helps "reorganize" the entire library. We went through category by category, re-sorting all the information and organizing it in his mind. Learning what belongs to which category. Working half an hour a week with the therapist. I shared the process with the preschool teacher, and she cooperated willingly and lovingly. Every category we learned that week with the therapist (for example, fruits, vegetables, vehicles, furniture, electrical appliances, clothing, etc.), we worked on it all week at home and in preschool through drawing, games, and visualization.

Each time, we moved on to a different category...

At the same time, the preschool teacher taught Matan to use "giraffe language," a language where "you speak with your mouth, not your hands," "when you speak with your mouth, your heart is calm," and so on.

We worked with Matan on both fronts, and he blossomed. He simply blossomed. He became calmer, and even when it was hard for him and he was upset, he slowly learned to calm down and try to express himself. The connection with the speech therapist was amazing, and the work on all fronts quickly showed results.

And no! Half an hour a week with a speech therapist is not enough.

I sat there every week and learned. I learned how to work with my son. I learned how to teach him. Then I taught his father, the preschool teacher, and everyone who interacted with him. Because he deals with the difficulty every day, not just during the half-hour weekly session with the therapist.

With the occupational therapist, there was success as well. This time, 45 minutes a week and, yes, work at home, in preschool, and at the public park... strengthening the shoulder girdle and whatnot...

My house filled up with games we were introduced to by the speech therapist (needless to say, they are incredibly expensive), like "Who Am I?" and similar games.

We learned to speak to Matan in a way that would help him retrieve the correct word. We learned to ask him guiding questions when he got "stuck" on a word that refused to emerge from the depths of his messy library (remember?).

We learned, and he applied...

And then... it was time to move on to kindergarten...

To be continued...