The person inside

Quinn doesn't talk yet, but he expresses himself in so many ways. It's funny, I often feel that there is a fully cognizant person inside Quinn struggling to be understood, and it's our job to piece together what he's telling us. I've always been a proponent that actual words are only a part of any communication, and certainly parenting a not-yet-verbal kid hones those non-verbal communications skills. And not only the perception part - I've always seemed to terrify kids for reasons I never understood, and it wasn't until Quinn that tried to improve this aspect of myself. Slowing down, relaxing more, and smiling more seem to be the biggest keys.

Sometimes Quinn & I read vocabulary books. It reminds me of my Grade 5 year, helping teach a Vietnamese boat person how to speak English. Hing Wong was his name. He didn't speak a lick of English when he got here, and each person in the class took turns reading vocabulary books to him in a separate room every day. I remember thinking that I certainly wasn't qualified to teach anyone anything, but once I got over my initial terror, it really wasn't hard. It was actually kind of fun. He was very bright and obviously was familiar with much of how the world worked, just not in English. He learned blazingly quickly. I remember seeing things begin to click in his mind, associating pictures with sounds and written words. I get that same feeling with Quinn; that he understands so much and yet can't speak a single word (although we choose to believe that some of the mamamama and dadadada babbles aren't accidental...).

Hing went on to be an able classmate over the years and I never thought much about it at the time. Looking back on it though, seeing how well he did, and hearing how well he did for himself after highschool, I was particularly impressed. I still have this image in my head of the separate room off the main classroom, with a high vaulted ceiling in the old Acadia Street School and sunshine streaming in the tall window, teaching Hing vocabulary. I harken back to that day and that sunny image whenever I read vocabulary books to Quinn.