From September until now, many things have happened. Because Lucas goes to school two hours a day two days a week, we come home eat lunch and he naps. Our "Play" is wiped out. Even the other three days "playtime" is limited because of everyday life things like grocery shopping, appointments etc. Lucas's optimum goal of crawling and creeping 600 meters daily was falling woefully short at around 250 meters 3x/week. The reading program which should be done 10 or more times daily was only done 5 or so, and the brachiating which should be up to 10 lengths with 50% weight support by now...not even close and no patterning because we didn't have 2 extra people to pattern with us 12 times a day. Expectedly, Lucas's progress from September to now? Not quite as stunning.
In the hiatus from blogging between my last post when I had decided to homeschool starting next year and this post, I kept going back to what I know. Lucas has demonstrated for 2 years his ability to manage himself in the classroom. He also has remained the respectful, polite, well behaved child he has always been despite his *ahem* socialization. He also has shown us what he is capable of when he gets the neurological programming he needs consistently. The question has to be, what is our goal for our son. Why wait until next year? Do we wish his life to be special or extraordinary?
For anyone not familiar with what is commonly achieved with children with T21 (called Veras Kids) at the Institutes, here is a simple summary of just 10 of the thousands of children who have completed the program. Even the worst outcome there would be considered achievements unheard of here.
http://www.iahp.org/What.299.0.html
As I sit here looking at Lucas's map of Africa, I realize he is 30 countries in and doing very well. I also realize he hasn't touched it in a week. We should be done with Africa and on to Europe by now. He goes to the map everyday and walks away. He knows everything on it already, why would he care to look at it anymore? Probably just checking to see if his mom got her butt in gear and made 10 more countries, which she in fact did not.
Since deciding to "homeschool," I began researching methods, which led me right back to conventional education models...even Montessori at this point. Every educational model, whether it be administered at school or at home, focuses on the "outbound road." It gives a child either through direction (standard ed.) or self direction (Montessori) the opportunity to complete educational tasks. Motor pathways. Output.
The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential are nothing if not consistent. You can NEVER change the Brain and the way it functions by focusing on the outbound road. Typical children are ready for demonstration and matriculation because their brains have already done all the work on the inbound road (or so we assume, if that were really true there would be no reading or writing problems). Their brains are organized and ready to grow. Giving Lucas any of these requirements simply allows him the opportunity to complete them as his brain is organized now - and that is certainly incompletely.
In the beginning of this journey, I found one or two individuals who truly met the idea of what Lucas can be able to achieve. The closer I got to the road we should be on, I found more and more. It is common for Vera's Kids to not only speak, read and write fluently, but to do so in multiple languages, by the time they are 5. When these children complete the programming and enter classrooms they are most often at the head of the class intellectually and socially.
The Institutes call the neurologic immersion programs "Closed Brain Surgery." With enough Intensity, frequency and duration, you change the brain, you change the very cells. To complete Lucas's full program, it takes between 8 and 9 hours a day. Today is day number 4 for us and Lucas just told me "Need break mom, go to sleep."
You sleep love, your efforts are heroic and your future extraordinary!
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