For the love of laminating (oh and PODD)

Dear Reader,

I think I have found my newest passion... Laminating! Wow. The smell of the laminator heating up, the soft whir of the fan as it gets ready to plasticize your perfectly lined up project in its silky sheets. Loved it. I was quite saddened when I was finished. (Funny side note: my FIL also shares my obsession with laminating. Whenever we showed up at his office he would inquire if we had anything for him to laminate. He would hang his head if we couldn't procure something worry of lamination. However, we did laminate my husbands Social Security card. We found out later that it says right on the card "Do Not Laminate"..  Oh well. It will never get torn)

On to the main reason I was so excited to be laminating. PODD! (Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display).  'PODD is a means of selecting and organizing symbols so that people with complex communication needs and their communication partners can communicate more easily.' (www.novita.org.au)

After much research, planning, prayer, talking with other parents and teachers we decided that we would begin PODD. There has been so much success with it that how could I deny that it works. I am desperate for Conrad to communicate with us. He has so much to say and there is only so much guessing one can do before you decide this is not working. Let's find something that does.

He knows the PODD is his and he loves to look through it and find the TV icon. (figures, he is kind of an addict) It is going slow,  lots of modeling and breaking habits of just getting what he wants instead of either modeling for him how to ask for what he wants. But we are persevering. 

Please pray along with us as we give Connie his voice. Who knows, he may want to tell you thanks.

Hello

Dear Reader,
For the past several months I have been up to my neck in different types of communication devices, methods, app's you name it I have either seen it, read about it, researched it or fretted over it.
You see dear reader, we have in our family, one of the sweetest spirits ever living in our home.

He has Angelman Syndrome (AS) and as of right now has no 'conventional' way to communicate with the world. By conventional I mean vocally, sign language, or some assistive communication device that allows him to let the world know what it is that he wants or needs OR how he feels!

Have you ever wondered what it feels like not to be able to communicate your simplest desires or to simply tell someone, 'thank you' or 'I love you'? I have. All the time.

I have been fortunate enough in my life to know firsthand what it is like to not only have no idea how to communicate the simplest of needs to not understanding anything that was going on around me.

The first was when, at 18, I travelled all the way to Hamburg, Germany to be an Au Pair Madchen (nanny) to a German family whom I had never met. They had three adorable children to whom I would be responsible. Before I left I listened to some tapes and went out for dinner with a girl from Germany to learn some basic phrases. From the time I decided to go and by the time I got there it was only two months, hardly enough time to learn such a difficult language as German.
Once there I was enrolled in a German language class and I was on my way to becoming a very inefficient German speaking nanny. But I was given tools and the opportunity to use these tools. It was very empowering to use what I was learning every day and to see that I was not only getting better but I was being understood!

The second opportunity came in the form of a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was called to serve in the Marseille France mission. I was familiar with the French language as I grew up in Canada. I had been learning it since I was a wee one, BUT! Speaking it was a completely different story. I spent eight weeks in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. The first four weeks all the instruction was given in English and the last four weeks was given entirely in French. There was one Elder (guy missionary) who just could not get the language no matter how hard he studied or tried. There was one day where he was trying so hard to say whatever it was that he needed to say in French that he said, "Comment dis-ton - something in English - en Francais?"  Which translates to: "How do you say - whatever he was trying to say - in French?"
We all burst out laughing at his enormous efforts but at the same time we could feel his frustration at not being able to say what he wanted to say. He was given the tools and was using them but it was taking so much longer than he wanted it to.


When I finally got to France, and heard everyone around me speaking, I was convinced I was either in the wrong country or had learned the wrong language in the MTC. I didn't understand a. single. word. I was assured that we were in fact in France and that the language I was hearing was French. (apparently the accent is much different in the south of France). GAH! I was so frustrated and scared ok I was terrified. I had a headache that lasted nearly three months as I listened so vigorously and intently to this incredibly beautiful language that I did not understand a word of.  But after much perseverance, fervent prayer and A LOT of practice, I finally got to a place where I was proficient enough to understand those around me and to speak my feelings. It took awhile but I had been given the tools I just needed to keep at it.


What does any of this have to do with our son not being able to communicate 'conventionally'
you ask? Everything! This year I am on an adventure to discover what our son has to say. I want to know what it is like to have AS,  what he dreams about at night, does he really like grapes as much as we think he does? I want to know what books he would like me to read to him, why doesn't he like scrambled eggs or pancakes, what is his favorite color, would he like to be in an inclusive classroom.

If you think I am getting ahead of myself in thinking that he will be able to answer any, let alone all of these questions... check out this blog  www.uniquely-speaking.blogspot.com  about the communication undertakings of Keisha and Rylee. Get ready to blow the lid off any beliefs you once had about children with disabilities. Keisha and Rylee are so inspiring. They are my heroes.  I am so excited to introduce them to you.

Please stay tuned as I figure out which communication device, app, book, PODD or method we will be using. Maybe Conrad will take over this blog one day..


PS Rylee wrote this:  She is 9.