CAPD Community

Zack came home very close to tears on the first day of third grade this year. The teacher felt the need to inform them of everything that they would learn over the next ten months. Just a tad bit overwhelming for an eight-year-old with Auditory Processing Disorder. Barring that, I thought things went pretty well for the first week.

Day One – Week Two

OKAY! Now, I realize that the reason it went so smoothly was because homework did not begin until today. HERE WE GO! I looked it over and it did not look so bad. Stuff he was used to. Stuff I knew he could handle. But, not after a full-day at school spent deciphering and decoding what everyone was saying for 7 hours. He did it all-the crying, the hair pulling, the hyperventilating.

WHY ME? WHY DOES HE SAVE THIS FOR ME?

Because he knows he can. He knows he is safe here to be himself. I just let him work it out. I imagine this is what he wanted to do all day when things were hard; when he didn’t understand something.

And so I went to my journal and wrote:


Today I Prayed…..

Today I prayed for Patience.
Today I prayed for Strength.
Today I prayed for Restraint.
Today I prayed for Wisdom.

I drew, slow, long, cleansing breaths.
I sat on my hands.
I bit my lip and kept my mouth shut.
I fought back the tears that stung my eyes.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I held together my broken heart.

Today, I helped my son with his homework.

We are their safe haven. We are the place where they draw strength from; the strength to cope with the daily challenges of a living with APD. We have the great responsibility of fostering their value and self-worth. We are their family!