The End But Not the Last, Part 2

I haven't posted much about Luke's progress this past year, and I would regret it if I didn't journal something about it - even if it is somewhat disjointed.  As this school year officially ended yesterday, I've been reflecting on how far Luke has come.

Wait, let me back up - I really feel like our move from the suburb of Grosse Pointe to Troy was such a blessing to our family.  Grosse Pointe was wonderful, but we felt the need to move two years ago.  It was perfect timing, as we couldn't decide what to do about Luke's schooling.  Troy had the Developmental Kindergarten program, which was perfect for him.  Then, this year, his Kindergarten class at Leonard Elementary has been phenomenal for him.  The school district, and specifically our school, had so much previous knowledge and experience with Selective Mutism, which made things so much easier for us.  Also, through the school, we were led to a true wonder woman, Dr. Ruth Anan.  She is a psychologist who specializes in SM, and we cannot express how amazing she was during the time she was helping our family.

Luke started seeing her individually this past October, and it was the first time I really felt like we were going to be okay.  We hesitated seeking professional help for a while, mostly because of the steep cost. But, when our own efforts weren't helping Luke, we decided to take the plunge and see Dr. Anan.  With her extensive experience and talents with children like Luke, we saw huge improvements right away.  Within a few visits, Luke was speaking to all the staff in Dr. Anan's office - even playing games out loud in the waiting room in front of strangers.  This was HUGE.  Clayton and I were given lots of strategies and challenges to incorporate at home.  This was really big for me, as I never knew how much to push or if bribes were appropriate - so many unknowns.  I always felt like I was doing everything wrong.  Dr. Anan put our minds at ease and guided us.

Soon, Luke was put into Dr. Anan's Selective Mutism Group, which was how we spent our Wednesday evenings for most of the fall, winter, and spring.  Several kids of all different ages and stages of SM would get together and go on field trips, play games, or visit restaurants - always with a speaking task involved.  It helped Luke and I so much to be around other children and parents who were going through the same things we were.  The parents would swap stories about successes and failures.  That's when I really learned how amazing our school was handling our situation.  Some of the other families were dealing with lots of troubles that we didn't have to face.  Although one of the youngest in the group, Luke quickly became the loudest talker!  We feel so grateful that we were prompted to begin this process early with Luke, as it seems that the younger "treatment" is started, the better the outcome.  I had the best friends here who would watch Audrey and Max for me every Wednesday during dinnertime, while Luke and I went to the hospital for "group".  I don't think I can ever repay them.

Luke's teacher came off of maternity leave after Thanksgiving break, and Dr. Anan visited the school with us to introduce Luke to his "new" teacher and get him talking right away.  I have to interject here that the school's social worker, Stacey Schoenherr, was with us every step of the way as well.  She even came to Dr. Anan's office with us on her own time to work with Luke and receive guidance from Dr. Anan.   I couldn't believe it when Luke finally spoke to his teacher at school.  I was worried it would never happen!  His teacher, Mrs. Tull, was wonderful with Luke as well, always trying to get him to say one more word, participate a little bit more, make another friend.  Now, at the end of the year, Luke has been speaking in front of his class (albeit quietly).  He has several good friends (mostly girls!), and loves participating in gym and recess the most.  He has gotten over some of his insecurities with writing and reading in public, and his teacher was amazed to finally see how well he can read and write.

 It makes me so happy to see how far he has come this year.  We are sad to say goodbye to Dr. Anan, Ms. Schoenherr, Mrs. Tull, and all of the other friends, parents, and school faculty who have been so good to us, but we know that this is not the end.  We are hoping to employ our strategies and knowledge in our new home and new school, making new friends and - hopefully - speaking LOUDLY!