Communication

It's starting to feel like Wes has all odds stacked against him when it comes to learning to communicate. Putting aside his unknown level of cognitive impairment, it seems like a miracle is necessary for Wes to ever be able to communicate at more than a 6 month old level. Right now it feels like an acomplishment when we are able to comunicate in simple ways like smile = good or cry = bad. I'm trying to be grateful for what we have because I recognize that other families would love that much communication. However, this primitive level of understanding each other will not feel like enough 6 months from now, a year from now, etc. I'm hopeful that Wesley will learn to talk and read and write but it seems like he has a tremendous number of obstacles in his way. It's just not "fair" that he will have to work so hard.

Wes has a hearing impairment so he should learn sign language, but he also has both a vision impairment, making it harder to teach him signs, and difficulty with motor skills, making accurately performing signs extraordinarily difficult. Then, he has a vision impairment so he should learn to read and type Braille but again that requires extremely developed fine motor skills.

I want my son to be able to communicate his desires, ideas, feelings. I want his interaction with the world to go beyond "good" or "bad." I don't want to see him get frustrated when he can't express himself because of his disability. So... I buy books on sign language and Braille so I can be as educated as possible to be able to help teach him someday, and for now I try and delight in the fact that he can tell me when he likes something or not.

Wes was worn out after his trip to California to see his Aunt Millie and Uncle Josh!

 

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 6, 2012 at 6:30 PM

    Hey, I just stumbled on your blog. Thanks so much for sharing Wes's and your story. I know it can be frustrating, especially when you only want the best for your child, but all you can do is your best for him! He sure is a cute kid. If you ever need any medical, legal, or lifestyle advice, check out Cerebral Palsy Family Network. It's a great site full of resources for all things CP. Good luck to you and Wes - I'm sure you'll find that in no time he will be able to communicate all kinds of things to you, disabled or not.

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