CLAIRE

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

CLAIRE

“We Will Get There”

Written by Claire’s mom, Rebecca: 

Claire, has been using Ozarks Literacy Council tutoring services for years now. She has been with Ms. Margie Colon as her tutor since the beginning. They have a bond and a friendship that goes beyond learning to read. 

At 18 months, Claire wasn't walking or talking, so we knew something was wrong. She had an MRI done and was found to have brain damage that resulted in a diagnosis of spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and developmental delays. Since that diagnosis, Claire has had to work extra hard to do the simple things we take for granted. She has had a spinal surgery and multiple leg surgeries. She has been in and out of walkers and wheelchairs. 

It was during one of the recoveries of her leg surgeries that she was home bound that we noticed something. She retained more information and got more done with her homebound teacher in an hour at the kitchen table than she did all day at school. In public school, she was only in her regular classroom 38% of the time. We decided to homeschool Claire. This made sense for our family. We could schedule her needed PT, OT and speech therapies anytime during the day and work on schoolwork around them, we could also go at Claire's pace and not anyone else's. There would be no IEPs to dictate what Claire had to learn when. We could breathe and take our time. 

All of her therapists are amazing. They have worked on everything. From teaching her to walk again after every surgery to how to chew her food without choking.  Her speech therapists have worked on articulation and just getting her to be understood by everyone. But what about learning to read? This was turning out to be a very difficult area for Claire. The English language is hard and has lots of components to it. I felt like it needed to be more than just me trying to open the reading door for her. 

I have lived in Springfield since I was 8. Ozarks Literacy Council has something I have always heard of, but never needed until now. I gave them a call and explained everything about Claire. They were more than happy to find a tutor for us and get services started immediately. The rest is history. Every week for an hour, Claire and Margie meet, read, write and have a great time. I don't even know if Claire sees it as work or school. She just gets to see her friend. There has definitely been progress, slow and steady progress, but still progress. At Claire's pace. Margie has always been patient and kind with Claire. She is invested in Claire and wants to see her grow up to be successful. Which is exactly what we want for her too. With OLC's help and Margie's support, we will get there.