Many years ago someone asked me how I saw myself as a mother. She wanted to know what defined me as a mom that was different than what defined my neighbor or friend as a mom. I thought for a minute and I said mother as educator. I wasn't the celebrating mom that was big on birthdays and holidays. I wasn't the mom who wants to make my home a warm special environment through decorating. The list of things I was not could go on and on. I was an educator. I never met an educational activity I didn't love. Well, maybe one or two, but not many. Fast Forward a few more years. I had been mother as educator and had honed my skill. I was going to need every bit of what I had learned and a lot more.
I had to go way past being a preschool and early elementary teacher type. I needed to learn behavior intervention like I had never known with my neuro typical children. I needed to to understand occupational therapy so I could do many of the activities from therapy at home. I convinced myself that my son had no language issues because he had a large vocabulary. I was clueless about pragmatic language, social skills affected by language, inferencing and figurative language. Over time, my new area of study was language and social skills.
I had to go past being a mom who loves educational activities. I needed to be a mom who loves my son so much that I would become a therapist so I could reinforce the professional services he received. It has been a long haul with a huge learning curve. Over the next few weeks, we will look at some of the behind the scenes needs in a mom who takes on the role of resident therapist of the household. I'm looking forward to this journey with all the wonderful parents who are reading.
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