Last week toby turned ten years old. We have been so busy with the requisite end of year field trips, a family camping trip and enjoying life in general that i haven't had time to write about him until now.
Toby is the most amazing boy. Long time readers know that he has had his share of struggles. Toby was diagnosed with apraxia of speech at two years old. When he entered kindergarten he was 90% unintelligble to strangers. He went through seven years of speech therapy. This past year we transferred toby from private to public school in order to gain access to more resources for him and get him psycho-educational testing. His tests came back showing him at above-average to gifted intelligence in almost all subject areas. He was also diagnosed with a profound learning delay in reading and writing - a result of miss-firing synapses because of his apraxia.
The test results brought me great relief because i already knew what they would say and it meant that he could gain access to very limited special education resources. He switched to a modified educational plan that included many of his texts and home-reading being done on tape. He went from a grade one level in reading comprehension to exactly on track for grade four in a matter of weeks. His confidence soared at a time when he needed it most.
Toby talks non-stop from the moment he wakes until sleep takes over his tired body. Once he found his words they never stopped coming. He is filled with brilliant and large ideas and an imagination that knows no limit. He is loud and rough and jubilant and moody like most ten year old boys. He is always eager to help me with any job and, when i think about it, has really filled the role of "man of the house" in my home.
Sometimes i wish he would just slow down for a moment so i could give him a big hug and tell him how proud i am of him and how far he has come. I know that this will be the year that all the pieces have come together for toby and he will soar. Happy birthday toby, i love you.
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