Magic plan for today for Tanner

[Guest guest]

??? huh?

=====

[Guest guest]

I know Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD -but that wasn't why he was teased

as a child. It was due to his lisp and big ears.

" Olympic swimming star Phelps spoke out against bullies in

between swims at this summer's Olympics, talking about how he was

bullied for his gangly limbs, big ears, and lisp. He remembers the

bullies flicking his ears and tossing his baseball cap out the

window. This was in addition to struggling with his studies and an

absentee father. Even when he threw himself into swimming, high-

school classmate Katy Saine says he still " got a hard time about

being a swimmer and not a football or lacrosse player. "

When Phelps started down the road to gold at his first Olympics in

2000, one of the bullies came up and congratulated him. Phelps

recalls looking at the kid and " said he was sorry, but he didn't

remember him. "

http://www.dosomething.org/blog/celebsgonegood/bullied-celebs

That was in his own words as to why he was teased -but much more on

the internet if you google " Phelps " and " lisp " .

Here's just one other

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/08/14/profile-how-michael-\

phelps-went-from-bullied-kid-with-big-ears-to-the-world-s-most-successful-olympi\

an-86908-20696762/

My oldest son has ADHD and he is very coordinated -not a 'klutz on land' like

Phelps -again in his own words

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/sports/othersports/02phelps.html

My son Dakota and his friends love doing something called parkour

(extreme video) http://www.youtube.com/user/glyphmedia?ob=4

Just because Phelps wasn't diagnosed as dyspraxic doesn't mean he may not

be. But who gets to bring that up?!!

Oh that reminds me one of the kids in the class brought up when

hosted Saturday Night Live and what a great job he did. I

agreed he did a great job! (no matter what his diagnosis!)

=====

[Guest guest]

Is this something you would think any of us should do?

>

> Sorry so long for the update. I went to Tanner's school today and

> had information about both Radcliffe and Phelps as

> planned. I was able to do a computer presentation but decided to

> just keep it cozy and personal -a fun candid chat. (I have no

> trouble with public speaking)

>

> From memory I will try to write down what happened:

>

> " How many people here know Radcliffe? "

> (only around 5 children raised their hands and some of the teachers

> did)

>

> The headmaster said " But how many know who Harry Potter is? "

> Everyone raised their hand and one child said " You mean the boy that

> plays Harry Potter in the movies? " and we confirmed that

>

> I said " has a secret does anyone know what it is? " And 4

> hands went up -these were the answers

>

> " Oh, Oh he has a new girlfriend? " (well he may but that's not the

> secret I'm looking for)

> 2 hands went down

> " He has apraxia? " (Tanner's one friend)

>

> We got into then a huge conversation about apraxia/dyspraxia and how

> it can affect the body or speech. I had brought a few of the movies

> with me and held them up and left them at the school. The children

> were all curious why didn't appear to have any trouble with

> going up the stairs in the movie.

>

> I then brought up Phelps and talked about how when he came

> back home he had a heroes welcome where thousands of people lined the

> streets. I then held up an article about him as a young boy -he was

> teased due to his lisp and his big ears. I said " But does anyone

> think anyone would make fun of Phelps today? "

>

> The whole room said " No way! "

>

> I said well about one month ago this question was posted on . I

> read the question and there was an audible GASP from the entire

> room. I said " It's not only the question but I have here 7 pages of

> answers which many of them are just as sad. I'm going to leave this

> with your head of school if she believes it's appropriate to show to

> any of you. I then talked about those that wear glasses, or that

> have hearing impairments, or that have to be in wheelchairs (there's

> one little girl in the school that has to be in a wheel chair due to

> severe seizures) and how like that a verbal disability is a

> disability. Of course I talked about some other actors that have

> impairments of speech.

>

> I talked about Tanner as a little boy and how we had to use sign

> language and I explained how we used picture exchange as a way for

> him to talk and told a funny story about each. I talked about how

> hard Tanner worked to be able to talk. (I did not go into the

> sensory or any other issues -just kept it at the speech)

>

> I didn't go into details about the why the regression of speech other

> than

>

> " Many of you know that Tanner was talking OK for the most part and

> then all of a sudden he was very quiet and now he is having a bit of

> trouble with talking. He wasn't put onto medication it was a

> supplement that a doctor thought would help him but it didn't and now

> we are working really hard on helping him get back to where it was "

>

> The head of school then asked Tanner

>

> " Tanner when you have trouble talking would you prefer we prompt or

> help you or that we wait for you? "

>

> It was brutal. I knew he wanted to say that he wanted everyone to

> wait so the worst thing I could do is say what he wanted -but it took

> what seemed like 20 minutes to get that out. Poor little guy.

>

> There were TONS of questions but mainly what I found was that each

> child wanted to talk about their own issues which was really cool.

> Here's just a few I recall:

>

> " Will Tanner be cured of this? "

> " I have a speech impairment too and I went to a therapist for years

> but they didn't help me and now that I moved here the therapists

> think it's because I am from Israel and that's why I can't pronounce

> my 'r's " (he did not have a diagnosis but clearly still had

> articulation issues -I left Dr. Jonas' number for him to give to his

> parents)

> " I used to stutter "

> " I have ADHD and when I was little I had to see a speech therapist

> for articulation and I hated it so I don't go anymore " (said

> perfectly)

> " I have dyslexia where I don't always see the letters right "

> " Does Tanner still know how to do sign language? "

> " I googled Tanner's name and I saw he was on Inside Edition "

>

> Well that went into a huge discussion of how Tanner is a " super star "

> as I or Tanner never told anyone about The Late Talker book or any of

> the interviews Tanner had been on. We went way over what we were

> supposed to and the hands kept raising as there were more and more

> questions. I know each child wanted to talk about either something

> they went through or something that someone else went to.

>

> When Tanner came home from school he said that everyone in the school

> kept coming up to him saying how cool it was that he was such a super

> star. Also for what ever it's worth -the sign language aspect was a

> huge hit. Many people kept asking about that. I was told it went

> really well. I thought so too. Tanner said he was happy.

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

I'm thrilled to hear that things went so well, !

Bek

In a message dated 10/9/2008 12:06:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

kiddietalk@... writes:

Sorry so long for the update. I went to Tanner's school today and

had information about both Radcliffe and Phelps as

planned. I was able to do a computer presentation but decided to

just keep it cozy and personal -a fun candid chat. (I have no

trouble with public speaking)

From memory I will try to write down what happened:

" How many people here know Radcliffe? "

(only around 5 children raised their hands and some of the teachers

did)

The headmaster said " But how many know who Harry Potter is? "

Everyone raised their hand and one child said " You mean the boy that

plays Harry Potter in the movies? " and we confirmed that

I said " has a secret does anyone know what it is? " And 4

hands went up -these were the answers

" Oh, Oh he has a new girlfriend? " (well he may but that's not the

secret I'm looking for)

2 hands went down

" He has apraxia? " (Tanner's one friend)

We got into then a huge conversation about apraxia/dyspraxia and how

it can affect the body or speech. I had brought a few of the movies

with me and held them up and left them at the school. The children

were all curious why didn't appear to have any trouble with

going up the stairs in the movie.

I then brought up Phelps and talked about how when he came

back home he had a heroes welcome where thousands of people lined the

streets. I then held up an article about him as a young boy -he was

teased due to his lisp and his big ears. I said " But does anyone

think anyone would make fun of Phelps today? "

The whole room said " No way! "

I said well about one month ago this question was posted on . I

read the question and there was an audible GASP from the entire

room. I said " It's not only the question but I have here 7 pages of

answers which many of them are just as sad. I'm going to leave this

with your head of school if she believes it's appropriate to show to

any of you. I then talked about those that wear glasses, or that

have hearing impairments, or that have to be in wheelchairs (there's

one little girl in the school that has to be in a wheel chair due to

severe seizures) and how like that a verbal disability is a

disability. Of course I talked about some other actors that have

impairments of speech.

I talked about Tanner as a little boy and how we had to use sign

language and I explained how we used picture exchange as a way for

him to talk and told a funny story about each. I talked about how

hard Tanner worked to be able to talk. (I did not go into the

sensory or any other issues -just kept it at the speech)

I didn't go into details about the why the regression of speech other

than

" Many of you know that Tanner was talking OK for the most part and

then all of a sudden he was very quiet and now he is having a bit of

trouble with talking. He wasn't put onto medication it was a

supplement that a doctor thought would help him but it didn't and now

we are working really hard on helping him get back to where it was "

The head of school then asked Tanner

" Tanner when you have trouble talking would you prefer we prompt or

help you or that we wait for you? "

It was brutal. I knew he wanted to say that he wanted everyone to

wait so the worst thing I could do is say what he wanted -but it took

what seemed like 20 minutes to get that out. Poor little guy.

There were TONS of questions but mainly what I found was that each

child wanted to talk about their own issues which was really cool.

Here's just a few I recall:

" Will Tanner be cured of this? "

" I have a speech impairment too and I went to a therapist for years

but they didn't help me and now that I moved here the therapists

think it's because I am from Israel and that's why I can't pronounce

my 'r's " (he did not have a diagnosis but clearly still had

articulation issues -I left Dr. Jonas' number for him to give to his

parents)

" I used to stutter "

" I have ADHD and when I was little I had to see a speech therapist

for articulation and I hated it so I don't go anymore " (said

perfectly)

" I have dyslexia where I don't always see the letters right "

" Does Tanner still know how to do sign language? "

" I googled Tanner's name and I saw he was on Inside Edition "

Well that went into a huge discussion of how Tanner is a " super star "

as I or Tanner never told anyone about The Late Talker book or any of

the interviews Tanner had been on. We went way over what we were

supposed to and the hands kept raising as there were more and more

questions. I know each child wanted to talk about either something

they went through or something that someone else went to.

When Tanner came home from school he said that everyone in the school

kept coming up to him saying how cool it was that he was such a super

star. Also for what ever it's worth -the sign language aspect was a

huge hit. Many people kept asking about that. I was told it went

really well. I thought so too. Tanner said he was happy.

=====

Geng

President CHERAB Foundation

Communication Help, Education, Research, Apraxia Base

_http://www.cherab.htt_ (http://www.cherab.org/)

Co Founder Speechville

772-335-5135

" Help give our cherubs a smile and a voice "

>

> Well today is the day I go to Tanner's school. So I'm looking for

> articles to use in the presentation with the head of school and I

> find something disgusting.

>

> For those that don't recall or that are new, Tanner speech regressed

> dramatically due to a supplement that had mega levels of vitamins in

> it (long story) and in the past whenever his speech regressed due to

> the wrong formula of fish oils -all it took was a day to get things

> back to normal. Note to self- do not play around with fat soluble

> vitamins. Now I'm stuck in a situation like I have not been in

> since Tanner was first diagnosed. Who do I ask? Like anyone really

> knows.

>

> Since his speech is gradually getting better I'm hoping that's a

good

> thing - but he's still not back to where he was just a few weeks ago

> yet. The school thinks I put him on a new medication and his

friends

> and teachers don't know why he was so suddenly quiet and now why his

> speech regressed and Tanner wanted me to come in and explain.

>

> I found out not just from Tanner but from his friends that he is not

> being teased -but nobody understands why this is going on and it's a

> bit too complicated for Tanner to explain (which is why the school

> thinks it is a new medication -which neither of my boys have ever

> been on any medication) Yes I did talk to some of the teachers -but

> the head of school thought it best for me to come in and address the

> entire school.

>

> Yesterday Tanner said to me that when he talks now even though

nobody

> makes fun of him - he thinks that they are thinking " I am retarded

or

> something because of the way I'm talking now " Clearly even if

others

> are not bothered by his speech it bothers Tanner. We talked about

> how well he does in school and how many friends he has. And of

> course we talked about Radcliffe and Phelps and

> bringing up always seems to help as Tanner is a HUGE Phelps

> fan.

>

> I found articles about Radcliffe which were all great. Many

> to choose from. Then I looked for something about Phelps

> because of course he too is someone that is a great success that

also

> has has a lisp (and on land appears to have strong signs of

dyspraxia

> too) and I found this article of how he was teased as a child due to

> his large ears and his lisp

>

> _http://www.dailyrechttp://wwwhttp://www.dahttp://www.dhttp://www.dai_

(http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/08/14/profile-)

how-michael-how-michael-how-michael-how-michahow-michahow-michael-ho

most-successful-most-succmost-successful

>

> Teased as a child but he's a success today. So like the articles

> about I didn't expect to read this posted just one month ago:

>

> " Is Phelps slightly retarded?

> I know I'm not alone in this. He appears a bit " off " , like

> he's ...you know - " special " .

>

> He pronounces his last name as " Phelpth " and says he's a " thwimmer " .

>

> Just wondering if anyone out there knew what's really goin' on?

> 1 month ago "

>

>

> I don't know what is worse. The question or the majority of the

> answers! I mean this is a guy that is an all time hero, one that

> clearly is the best swimmer the world has ever known and who has

done

> interviews and who clearly isn't " slightly retarded " but because of

> his lisp his cognitive ability is in question?!!! It's just like we

> wrote in The Late Talker book that adults with even a minor

> impairment of speech are assumed to have some sort of cognitive

> disability. This is so WHY we need awareness and advocacy for the

> verbal disabled.

>

> You know I'm going to talk to the school about this too. We all

need

> to raise awareness about how unfair this is. That with just about

> any other type of disability this would never happen. It's so sad.

> _http://answers.http://anshttp://anhttp://anshttp://answers.http:_

(http://answers./question/index?qid=20080825032901AAtLZQw)

>

> Anyway will let everyone know how it goes!

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

First, let me say you are an absolutely AWESOME mom for taking the

time to explain to his school what's going on. Second, I think it's

wonderful that the children are all so understanding of his

condition - kids are usually so cruel, and it makes me feel like the

world's a bit better place to know that these kids care.

Wishing you continued luck with his speech.

>

> Sorry so long for the update. I went to Tanner's school today and

> had information about both Radcliffe and Phelps as

> planned. I was able to do a computer presentation but decided to

> just keep it cozy and personal -a fun candid chat. (I have no

> trouble with public speaking)

>

> From memory I will try to write down what happened:

>

> " How many people here know Radcliffe? "

> (only around 5 children raised their hands and some of the teachers

> did)

>

> The headmaster said " But how many know who Harry Potter is? "

> Everyone raised their hand and one child said " You mean the boy

that

> plays Harry Potter in the movies? " and we confirmed that

>

> I said " has a secret does anyone know what it is? " And 4

> hands went up -these were the answers

>

> " Oh, Oh he has a new girlfriend? " (well he may but that's not the

> secret I'm looking for)

> 2 hands went down

> " He has apraxia? " (Tanner's one friend)

>

> We got into then a huge conversation about apraxia/dyspraxia and

how

> it can affect the body or speech. I had brought a few of the

movies

> with me and held them up and left them at the school. The children

> were all curious why didn't appear to have any trouble with

> going up the stairs in the movie.

>

> I then brought up Phelps and talked about how when he came

> back home he had a heroes welcome where thousands of people lined

the

> streets. I then held up an article about him as a young boy -he

was

> teased due to his lisp and his big ears. I said " But does anyone

> think anyone would make fun of Phelps today? "

>

> The whole room said " No way! "

>

> I said well about one month ago this question was posted on .

I

> read the question and there was an audible GASP from the entire

> room. I said " It's not only the question but I have here 7 pages

of

> answers which many of them are just as sad. I'm going to leave

this

> with your head of school if she believes it's appropriate to show

to

> any of you. I then talked about those that wear glasses, or that

> have hearing impairments, or that have to be in wheelchairs

(there's

> one little girl in the school that has to be in a wheel chair due

to

> severe seizures) and how like that a verbal disability is a

> disability. Of course I talked about some other actors that have

> impairments of speech.

>

> I talked about Tanner as a little boy and how we had to use sign

> language and I explained how we used picture exchange as a way for

> him to talk and told a funny story about each. I talked about how

> hard Tanner worked to be able to talk. (I did not go into the

> sensory or any other issues -just kept it at the speech)

>

> I didn't go into details about the why the regression of speech

other

> than

>

> " Many of you know that Tanner was talking OK for the most part and

> then all of a sudden he was very quiet and now he is having a bit

of

> trouble with talking. He wasn't put onto medication it was a

> supplement that a doctor thought would help him but it didn't and

now

> we are working really hard on helping him get back to where it was "

>

> The head of school then asked Tanner

>

> " Tanner when you have trouble talking would you prefer we prompt or

> help you or that we wait for you? "

>

> It was brutal. I knew he wanted to say that he wanted everyone to

> wait so the worst thing I could do is say what he wanted -but it

took

> what seemed like 20 minutes to get that out. Poor little guy.

>

> There were TONS of questions but mainly what I found was that each

> child wanted to talk about their own issues which was really cool.

> Here's just a few I recall:

>

> " Will Tanner be cured of this? "

> " I have a speech impairment too and I went to a therapist for years

> but they didn't help me and now that I moved here the therapists

> think it's because I am from Israel and that's why I can't

pronounce

> my 'r's " (he did not have a diagnosis but clearly still had

> articulation issues -I left Dr. Jonas' number for him to give to

his

> parents)

> " I used to stutter "

> " I have ADHD and when I was little I had to see a speech therapist

> for articulation and I hated it so I don't go anymore " (said

> perfectly)

> " I have dyslexia where I don't always see the letters right "

> " Does Tanner still know how to do sign language? "

> " I googled Tanner's name and I saw he was on Inside Edition "

>

> Well that went into a huge discussion of how Tanner is a " super

star "

> as I or Tanner never told anyone about The Late Talker book or any

of

> the interviews Tanner had been on. We went way over what we were

> supposed to and the hands kept raising as there were more and more

> questions. I know each child wanted to talk about either

something

> they went through or something that someone else went to.

>

> When Tanner came home from school he said that everyone in the

school

> kept coming up to him saying how cool it was that he was such a

super

> star. Also for what ever it's worth -the sign language aspect was

a

> huge hit. Many people kept asking about that. I was told it went

> really well. I thought so too. Tanner said he was happy.

>

> =====

>