tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70182053282455439102024-09-13T11:37:19.191-04:00This blog is about being mom to a child with a mixed expressive/receptive language disorder. About what has worked for us and what hasn't. I'll talk about our joys and frustrations. Most specifically, I'll talk about homeschooling and the adaptations, massive changes, and creative alternatives that happen as we progress through school. I hope you'll find some useful information and that you'll enjoy the company.OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-32843171517353537742011-06-05T07:49:00.000-04:002011-06-05T07:49:45.532-04:00

Over a year now since I updated here at "A Time to Talk". Maintaining two blogs and working full-time is a bigger challenge than I anticipated. I will keep this blog "live" because the information remains useful, but for updates and our ongoing story, please visit my other blog at OneMom. I did a new article earlier this morning entitled "Being Hannah's Mom". OneMom

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-75077821069796445862010-04-17T11:08:00.000-04:002010-04-17T11:08:10.919-04:00

Early in 2010, I changed Hannah's curriculum and homeschool process. The curriculum is Switched on Schoolhouse from Alpha Omega Publications. The process is through a new Gateway Touchscreen Computer. Because of Hannah's birth date, she would be finishing 2nd grade in public school, but she started 3rd grade a few months ago with the new computer and curriculum. The subjects in the program

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-45196922556973710272010-04-17T09:00:00.003-04:002010-04-17T09:18:40.090-04:00

(reposted from my OneMom blog)Several weeks ago, a friend of ours stopped by our house and delivered a much delayed Christmas present to Hannah. Last night Hannah came downstairs from her school room and brought me a piece of paper. She had been at her desk writing a thank-you note for the gift she received. An 8-year old writing an unprompted thank-you note is probably amazing enough, but for

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-40867009269148694122010-04-17T08:51:00.005-04:002010-04-17T08:58:33.866-04:00

Last August (2009), my family made a 900 mile move, I went back to work full time (which is why we moved), and my husband became the stay-at-home parent. Not my dream situation, but in this economy, I had a much greater earning potential and at least found a job making enough to allow my husband to remain home with Hannah and continue her homeschooling. I was even able to purchase a home in

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-59585697837306021202009-06-08T17:27:00.004-04:002009-06-08T17:36:07.028-04:00

(repost from my other blog)One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. My daughter Hannah is struggling with all things related to math, so today I brought in a new student in serious need of help with his numbers. This is Baxter the Basset Hound - aka the "Math Hound". Baxter is known around here for his bad attitude and desire to sleep all the time, so he brought

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-18303191417166784952009-05-30T13:25:00.004-04:002009-05-30T13:40:08.101-04:00

Recently I received an email from a mom with a child who has the same diagnosis as Hannah - severe mixed expressive/receptive language disorder, asking about homeschool materials and what has worked for us. I know I have talked about bits and pieces about what we have done, but as I finished my email response to her, it dawned on me that it might be a helpful post here on my blog. So, here it is:

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-29678468984949725582009-05-08T09:55:00.006-04:002009-05-08T10:30:53.351-04:00

So much for my plan to post more often here at A Time to Talk!First grade has been humming along quite nicely. We still have bumps in the road - all receptive language related - but overall, I am very pleased with Hannah's progress this school year. Her language has grown considerably, with the greatest increases in phonological areas and in comprehension.Here are a few successes from this school

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-74124991279482105592009-02-10T16:02:00.024-05:002009-02-10T17:42:33.749-05:00

In the previous post I discussed the challenges of teaching reading comprehension to a child with a mixed receptive/expressive language disorder. Today I want to give you some examples of what we are doing in homeschool to help facilitate Hannah's comprehension of the written word. Basically, I am teaching her critical thinking and how to be aware of the "who, what, where, when, why and how" as

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-52872727469132415152009-01-24T09:40:00.009-05:002009-01-24T15:56:49.228-05:00

I have spent a fair amount of my life singing with community choruses and oratorio societies. Many of the pieces I sang were in Latin, Italian and German. I was able to learn and sing these selections with great ability and emotion, without having a clue what the words meant. The conductor would give us guidance to emotions and general themes of each work, but the meaning of each word was

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-71042128838447933602008-12-30T22:05:00.016-05:002008-12-30T22:56:14.024-05:00

Over the last year, Hannah has moved from being a pre-reader to a voracious reader. When the Camaratas diagnosed her with the mixed expressive/receptive language disorder, they confirmed for me something I suspected - that phonics would be a very difficult way for her to learn to read. Fortunately I was already against the phonics only method anyway. I have been reading to Hannah since the day

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-26344275327522034332008-12-30T16:54:00.005-05:002008-12-30T17:01:56.186-05:00

Greetings and apologies to all who have been waiting far too long for a new post here at "A Time to Talk". Part of my delay was my own desire to chronicle our entire journey of having a child with a mixed expressive/receptive language disorder. I realize now that I cannot begin to cover everything we've been through the last seven years. Instead, I will post more often, dealing with current

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-31137734806980357592008-08-17T09:55:00.009-04:002008-08-17T19:28:47.420-04:00

Hannah's evaluation at Vanderbilt University was in August 2004. She was 32 months old at that time. We waited only a few moments before Mary (Camarata) came to get us. Right away, any fears or concerns I had about being there, were washed away. Mary very briefly said hello to my husband and me, but then focused her attention on Hannah. At the time, Hannah had about 60 words (mostly nouns), and

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-67900374646827105952008-07-30T09:06:00.005-04:002008-07-30T10:41:24.657-04:00

As I searched the internet for information about kids struggling with language, I found three key things:Books by Thomas Sowell about late talkers. Though not a perfect fit for my daughter, it was encouraging to see that language difficulties weren't always related to intelligence or ability.Late-Talking ChildrenThe Einstein SyndromeThe Natural Late Talkers Group (message board). These folks are

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-11316480380679349282008-07-13T13:00:00.001-04:002008-07-13T13:32:57.122-04:00

My daughter was born in 2001. She was a happy and easy baby, sleeping through the night by three months. In her development, she was late in rolling over, sitting up, getting her first tooth and walking. When she did reach a milestone though, it was as if she'd been practicing when no one was looking so that she could do it perfectly right from the start. Our pediatrician often remarked that

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018205328245543910.post-59236755951145254212008-06-23T10:17:00.006-04:002008-06-24T17:37:49.002-04:00

Welcome to "A Time to Talk", where I will be sharing with you our family's story of having a child with a severe mixed expressive/receptive language disorder. My daughter Hannah is now 6 years old, and the journey is by no means over. This will be a story of progress. I will spend the first few posts talking about the early days of development, evaluations, and what has worked and what hasn't

OneMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660238534482718325noreply@blogger.com3