My 12-year-old Aaden who is so resilient and is perfectly perfect exactly the way he is. I cannot imagine my life without this person.
By: Dr. Lindsey Tubaugh – August 30, 2021
As a parent, the beginning of the school year always brings a range of emotions. No matter how old my children get, I still get sentimental about sending them off that first day. Will they have fun? Will they make friends? Will they be bullied? Will they be a bully? Will they be able to stay up academically? Will I be able to keep up with their homework (lol)?
My “mommy-feels” are significant and run deep as I watch them walk away from my arms into the big wide world. For me, this never seems to get easier as the years go on and maybe some of you can relate. (Don’t get me wrong, part of those “mommy feels” are relief as well—I’m only human).
I feel this way with each of my children, ranging in age from 5 years to 14 years. However, there’s always a unique worry with one of my children.
This brilliant and charismatic soul has difficultly in the classroom at times with both academic and general instruction, even though he has the desire to do everything expected of him (he got that from his dad, not his rebellious mom).
Even though this year he was ecstatic to be back in school since he’s been homeschooled the last two years, my momma heart was so heavy with concern. I constantly had to remind myself to not project my worries onto this perfectly excited little heart.
The first week of school came and went and we made it through just fine. He’s still ecstatic about Junior High and comes home and tells me all about the friendly shenanigans that took place throughout the day and I swear each day he’s made a new friend (again, an ability inherited from dad).
I’m always a little hesitant to ask how his coursework is going. I just can’t help feeling I could/should be doing more for him to make things easier. I am hesitantly optimistic at all times and yet ready to pounce the second he begins to struggle. Will this ever go away?!
Luckily, my support system is all-star. How lucky am I that my business partner and dearest friend is a total rockstar with auditory processing? How lucky am I that I have access to someone who knows the ins and outs of what’s available as far as accommodations for my student and who to talk to when I need to raise concerns? I do not take for granted I am profoundly lucky!
Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to work every single day with someone incredible that specializes in the EXACT thing your child struggles with.
But—we all need someone like that! It helps to ease at least some of these worries our hearts take on while raising children.
As a pediatric audiologist, I can say this about every single pediatric audiologist I’ve ever met—we want to be that person for you and your child!! If you have a child with any kind of hearing difference, utilize the resource of your child’s pediatric audiologist for that support. We know about this stuff! And anything you are feeling—we have heard it and we are here to support those feelings and walk with you through them!
If you don’t have a pediatric audiologist whom you feel comfortable reaching out to, e-mail us! And know you aren’t alone in your worries and overwhelm and all the feelings. This is hard! Now more than ever we need to cultivate a society that buoys each other up in our unique worries and struggles.
If there is one thing I have taken out of “COVID times” it’s that we need to stick together. So, if you are feeling the weight of the beginning of the school year and concerned you or your child won’t be able to hear, process, and/or cope with sound—we are your people. We are here for you. If we aren’t the best person to meet your needs, we will help you find who is. Our emails are:
***(Disclaimer: this blog post is not a diagnostic tool for tethered oral tissues and should not be used as a replacement for an official screening, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment by a trained professional. This post is intended to raise awareness and is for educational purposes only).*** In a previous...
Throughout my time as a speech therapist, I’ve found that conducting therapy for clients with tethered oral tissues (also called TOTs) is one of my favorite aspects of my job. However, I’ve also learned that there is a ton of misinformation surrounding tethered oral tissues as well as controversy regarding...
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