Denisse has an issue, if you've been keeping up you know Ive mentioned it a couple of times, but not really getting into it...well I think I need to vent maybe some one will read this and give me some ideas...if not ..at least I vented.
Denisse has what they call Selective Mutism, they say its related to anxiety. I believe that. Thankfully even before knowing what was wrong I never pressured her to do anything an always allowed her to do everything at her own pace.
She has probably had it for a long time, but we always mistook it with shyness. It wasn't until last year in preschool when we were called for a conference that we figured it out. Her teachers said that she would not speak with them or the other kids. This was strange to us because she has been in daycare since she was 8 weeks old. So as any concerned parent I emailed her doctor and her doctor referred her to a therapist. Well we went to her for a few sessions, unfortunately due to financial reasons we weren't able to continue. We were given so many solutions to try, but none of them worked. Eventually both her dad and I tried and still she was resisting.
She finally started kindergarten and the same thing, her teacher was concerned. So we had a interdisciplinary type meeting with the school psychologist, speech pathologist, her teacher her dad and I and another teacher. What did the teacher have to say: "Denisse may very well be ready for 1st grade level, but since we cant evaluate her we cant move her up". See Denisse has been reading at a 1st grade level for over a year, her math is between 1st and 2nd grade, she is a smart kid, but she is holding herself back. The teacher said that well if it weren't because Denisse is smart she would probably be very behind. So we all decided to stick to the plan of not pressuring her but offering her other ways to communicate without her thinking that she doesn't ever have to talk.
Now..everything was fine and dandy until last week when I got a note from her teacher saying that she (Denisse) didn't want to do her work and she actually lipped, not spoke, but lipped the words "I don't want to" when her teacher asked her why she didn't want to do her work. That's a step forward but still I was upset, I started panicking in my insides saying oh geez if she gets discouraged from school that's it for her. So I sat down and talked to her and asked her why she didn't want to do her work. she responded...Mommy, its not that I don't want to do it, its just that I'm bored, its the same thing over and over again, I write I finish then she gives me more work when I'm done and the other kids don't hurry...so basically she is bored.
I cant do anything about this. I told her that until she doesn't talk to her teachers everything will be the same...they cant say she is advanced even though they all know she is because they cant prove it on paper...I feel stuck and like a useless mother...I blame myself, if I had more time with her, if I hadn't started work to early stuff like that ...I know its not my fault ..but I just wish I knew what to do ...
*sigh*
I am posting a couple videos of her reading that were taken today so you guys can see how frustrating it is for her to read like this and not be able to show it off....:(
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