Ms. Rodi is a teacher in Greece who feels blessed to be teaching children with disabilities who have been mainstreamed into her classrooms. She speaks of prayers which enable both teacher and student, and of Saints who she finds especially helpful as she works with students with dyslexia, autism, issues with working memory, short-term memory, stuttering, and ADHD,
St. John of Kronstadt from Wikimedia Commons
She lists four Saints to whom she prays, and how certain of these Saints helped a student of hers with learning difficulties. And she writes of these things in an inspirational way:
Be inspired and don’t hesitate to teach students with special talents. They will surprise you along the course of time, and you will feel how much they changed you as a human being. The impact is huge. . . . . dPrayer is the key! . . . . sFaith is the magic word to make the impossible, possible!
Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, seen and unseen; Glory to Thee through every sigh of my sorrow; Glory to Thee for every step of my life’s journey for every moment of glory; Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age!
– from the “Akathist of Thanksgiving” (“Glory to God for All Things”), composed by Metropolitan Triphon Turkestanov, killed in Soviet Russia in 1934- A Christian Martyr
Charlotte Riggle is an Orthodox Christian mother of children with various neurological conditions. They have grown up now, and in this blog post shared her reflections on seeing children with these issues through to an abiding relationship with a Church community, from their childhood years into their adult lives. She has experienced the challenge of doing this, and speaks from her reflections on her personal experiences.
Many people probably have Aphasia and don’t even know it!
What is Aphasia?
Aphasia is a language disorder that happens when you have brain damage. Aphasia may make it hard for you to understand, speak, read, or write. It does not make you less smart or cause problems with the way you think.
Signs of Aphasia
Aphasia can lead to a number of different problems. You may have trouble talking, understanding, reading, and writing.
Talking You may find that you:
Can’t think of the words you want to say. Say the wrong word. Sometimes, you may say something related, like “fish” instead of “chicken.” Or you might say a word that does not make much sense, like “radio” for “ball.” Switch sounds in words. For example, you might say “wish dasher” for “dishwasher.” Use made-up words. Have a hard time saying sentences. Single words may be easier. Put made-up words and real words together into sentences that do not make sense. Understanding You may:
Not understand what others say. This may happen more when they speak fast, such as on the news. You might have more trouble with longer sentences, too. Find it hard to understand what others say when it is noisy or you are in a group. Have trouble understanding jokes. Reading and Writing You may have trouble with the following things:
Reading forms, books, and computer screens. Spelling and putting words together to write sentences. Using numbers or doing math. For example, it may be hard to tell time, count money, or add and subtract.
Causes of Aphasia
Aphasia is most often caused by stroke. However, any type of brain damage can cause aphasia. This includes brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and brain disorders that get worse over time.
An Orthodox Christian Mom explains the success of an assisted language learning system (PODD) through her own experience with her non verbal son.The mom, whose name is Summer Kinard, also discusses a fuller meaning of the Greek word “Logos” in terms of her son’s developing relationship with her and her husband:
Logos has grown up in a Church filled with words and people and holy images. It cannot be separated from the holy Church or the witness of the icons to the Incarnation. We were never able to know the Logos until He became flesh and dwelt among us.
That’s where I see the Logos growing in my boy. The Logos of God is relationship, not vocabulary. In stilted, simple language, we are limping toward meaning, all the while becoming more and more like God.
And this applies to all who are pressing forward to know the Lord.
