... a mother's story ...
The other day, I was talking to another mom for some time. We shared the normal stories of potty training, school, etc. and then she mentioned one of the things she had been struggling with- her daughter,Emily's delayed speech. Emily was almost 4 years old and still speaking in only two-word sentences.
I was able to relate since my son had also been a late talker and like many new parents, anything out of the norm will cause some level of concern. I understood her concern because Emily, unable to always communicate with words, would resort to hitting others when frustrated - a very common response mechanism with speech delay.
That night after talking the issue through with her for a while, I told her that I would put her in touch with my friend who was a speech therapist; and, I let her know that, if needed, I wanted to at least lend her a sympathetic ear - since we had gone through a similar thing.
A few days later, Emily's mom emailed me with a sweet little story. She said that when Emily and my son were sharing the same snack table, my son had asked for Emily's uneaten Cheerios. Emily willingly shared her Cheerios and my son had exclaimed that Emily was a "very nice girl". Emily's mom wrote that Emily was beaming that entire day. Her mom said that Emily never felt that great before and no one had ever said that to her. I thought that the entire scenario was so sweet. Though small in many ways, that one exclamation was huge for Emily.
I find it very amazing how children unknowingly express kindness.
http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=25229
