Well we are now four days into our new school here in Lindenberg, Germany. The Grundschule or elementary school here is the only school in the state of Bavaria that is integrative. So once again I feel lucky that we landed in the best school system for our son. Our daughter has adjusted well, as she is our social butterfly and language is no barrier for her, she plays no matter what. Dylan on the other had is doing his best to not learn the language or so we think. The Para-educator that was assigned to Dylan seems to think he understands a lot of what she is saying when she speaks to him in German. And this is good, it means he is taking it all in just like we thought he would. My husband read the other day that children of there age should learn another language because it opens up new pathways in the brain. Interesting I thought! This is great for Dylan, right!? Once again stumbling onto something new… maybe every mentally challenged child should learn a new language. Maybe it will open up pathways to something he had lost during his regression. Most school in the U.S.A. are starting some type of language at a very young age and this is good. But here for us to survive in this country it is necessary that we all learn it.
Dylan’s Para-educator is a blessing from heaven! I feel like I have met her before, as weird as that sounds, I do. She had lived in the U.S.A. for five years with her husband before returning back to Germany, so her English is great! She has only worked with one Autistic boy there and yet I feel she just has an instinct for it. Yesterday, she had asked some questions about visual charts and I said, “YES!” They are a must. But I didn’t have to tell her, she figured it out after being with him for 3 days. He learns visually and this is a great method for him to make it through a busy day without loosing focus to much. I should tell her to put the words in German;)
So I will keep everyone posted that follows this blog on how Dylan does on learning a new language and the changes I see in him from doing so.