There is nothing more Terrah loves than being snuggled with or having a book read to her or having us spend time with her. Any child enjoys that, but Terrah really cherishes the family time; needless to say, so do we.
Terrah is a special child. She has special needs. At first we were devastated, but once we got to know her likes and dislikes and figure out her strengths, things got a lot easier for us (and for her). It still isn't easy at times, but God sees us through, each and evrey time.
Terrah has cri-du-chat syndrome. She is mentally disabled and has known behavioral problems, but most of the time, she is fairly easy to get along with. She cannot walk very well, and she knows maybe a dozen words or so. Terrah is six.
In addition to Terrah, we have a son, Jimmy, who is eight. I feel sorry for him because I know it isn't easy for him to deal with the demands of his sister. He tries his best to help out, but he only ends up feeling more frusttrated than ever, and then he goes out to see his friends, to work out the anger/frustration he feels.
We try to spend as much time with Jimmy as we do Terrah (we don't play favorites in our family), but Jimmy has always been the moody one, and so we've learned to back off when he is angry. Sometimes, living with Jimmy is like living with a time bomb: you never know when he is going to go off.
We try to help Terrah with her words, to try to encourage her to speak, but as I said, Terrah knows only about a dozen words; otherwise, in order to make her needs known, she points or grunts. She does have speech therapy twice a week, but I really don't see her making any headway. We just have to be patient with her is all, and work on her time, not ours. Still, it is maddening because we don't feel like she is making any progress.
In addition to the speech therapy, Terrah has occupational and physical therapy; she has those twice a week. Seems Monday through Friday are spent at therapy or doctor appointments; the only time we seem to catch a break is on the weekends, where we all play catch up on sleep/rest.
Terrah is a sweet-natured child, but she does have her preferences. Like any girl her age, she adores the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, or Keith Urban, the colors purple and pink, and the Disney Channel (I call it the Teen Disney Channel because that's all they seem to feature: programming for teenagers!). Yet she seems younger mentally: she cannot read or write, her speech is very much delayed, and she does have known mental disabilities that have put her way behind her peers.
Terrah is in kindergarten, but she goes to a school for kids who have special needs. She loves her teachers and friends there. She is very happy at school.
Well, I'd best try to get some shut-eye before the alarm goes off at five forty-five; kids gotta be up for school, and if I don't get my beauty sleep, I might as well hang it up. I'm a wreck the rest of the day. LOL Until later, this is Jill Marie Prentiss saying so long; may God bless you! I wanted to tell you about Terrah, so I did. :) Hope you don't mind.
~Jill Marie. :)
