To Label or Not to Label? This is the Question! Part 1
It is indeed a confusing world for parents of children that are struggling. Questions like, “Does my child have Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD or Auditory Processing Disorder? Are they on the autism spectrum?” and more, often plaque the minds of parents. There are also the ramifications of having a child officially diagnosed. “Will this be on a permanent record somewhere? What will we do if they recommend medication? What if some expensive program is suggested that is beyond our resources? What if they say that we shouldn’t be homeschooling?” These and other questions will be addressed in this and the next few posts.
Jan’s Story – We were some of those confused parents 34 years ago. Jenee’ (pronounced like Renee’ but with a J) was 4 years old and still struggling as she had all her life. The private Montessori school had placed her with her peers but working at her own level and offered extra help at the end of the day. It was the very best situation for us at the time because even though I was a certified teacher and often thought to myself that I could do a better job, home schooling was not on my radar. The school was doing all they knew to do but they did recommended educational testing so they could be of greater assistance to us. We complied with their request and got some devastating news. They said Jenee’ had a low IQ and gave us a very long list of things she would never do. Wow, and we thought we were going to get some help. This report was part of her permanent school record and many viewed her with lower expectations because of that report.
Discouraged and dismayed we went home to ponder the situation. A label was not what we needed. We needed and wanted a way to help our precious bundle of joy to reach her full God-given potential. And a few years later God did open the world of home schooling to us. We home schooled with the traditional approach for five years and had a little progress along the way. However, when Jenee’ reached the age of 15, we were at the end of what we knew to do. We were planning her entry into a vocational school when God, in His providence, intervened. (A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9) He led us to a brain training approach known as The NeuroDevelopmental Approach. The ND Approach looked at Jenee’ as a whole being, instead of under the microscope of a particular field of study. This was very unlike our previous experience with a myriad of professionals and their opinions. In addition to that, it equipped us and provided a way for us to work at the root cause and to do it from home instead of through expensive outside interventions.
Wow! When we did brain-training activities several times a day as we were directed, for short periods of time we started to see amazing changes. Jenee’s life was changed and so was ours. We haven’t looked back since God led us to equip others with the comfort that we had received. Seeing lives changed, no matter what the suspected or documented diagnosis, has truly been rewarding to put it mildly.
Stay tuned for more insight on, “to label or not to label” your child with learning struggles. In the meantime, get more understanding through articles and free webinars at https://www.brainsprints.com/
