THE SHADDOX BOYS

Jacob and Elijah Shaddox are brothers. Jacob is 21 years old and just moved into an apartment with his girlfriend. He graduated from a technical college with an Associate's degree in Computer Maintenance. He works for a school district as a computer technician. Elijah is almost 18 years old. He is hearing impaired, has Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He is a junior in high school. Elijah lives with his mom Mary and her wife, his stepmom. Mary has a bachelor's in deaf education and a masters in special education, and is an educational diagnostician. Life is always changing and this blog has chronicled many of these changes and will continue to do so!






Thursday, April 22, 2010

Small Victories

I got a very nice email from a paraprofessional who works with Elijah. I usually correspond with his teacher so it was very different to get an email from the "parapro". She said Eiljah had asked to go to a different room to get his tics out. When he came out he looked anxious. She asked why and he said he was scared, but wouldn't say why. She asked if he wanted to go back to his classroom to get his tics out and he said yes. He spent 20 min. getting his tics out. He rolled on the floor, pushed his feet then hands against the wall and snorted/moaned many times.

The speech teacher came at the end of this 20 min and asked if he was ready for speech. He popped up from where he was and said YES!

The parapro mentioned in her email how hard it must be for him to concentrate and work when he feels like he has to move with his tics. He learning to communicate better with words and let his feelings out so they know how he feels. I sometimes wonder if he had not been born deaf if it would easier for him to deal with the tourete syndrome/tics. We will never know and I have to accept that. I am glad for the language skills he does have and that he is learning new skills to communicate. It was nice for someone to really SEE what he goes through and "get it". It was a small victory for him today. He gained some acceptance and understanding.

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