The following story was shared with First Things First Yuma Regional Partnership Council:
January 17, 2013

Mom and her children were at domestic violence shelter, the Easter Seals Blake Foundation program educator was contacted by the shelter staff to come and introduce program to mom.

The concern was the Latif had a speech problem, he was very shy and every time someone tried talking to him, he would hide behind mom. He did not like having any interaction with others and his only way of communicating was hitting them and crying.  Mom’s way of disciplining her children was to ignore them and when they would have a tantrum, she thought that a bit of yelling would help.

Mom was feeling suffocated by everything that was going on in her life and she did not have any family or friends that could give her any support.

Through several of the Parents as Teachers Special Needs program sessions and careful planning, mom and son have learned that early childhood is very important and that this the time when language, math and social skills are being developed.

Latif has learned to talk, he is using 3 to 4 word in a sentence, he is very outgoing and every lesson and activity that he learns, turns around and teaches his older siblings. Another lesson that he learned and understands is “time out”, when he realizes, he did something wrong, without no one telling him, he goes to the corner and sits there and counts, until it is time to get up. He has learned to say “sorry” when he knows he is wrong. He plays with other children. Every night he picks a book and takes to mom so can read to him.

Mom learned that her parenting skills needed some polishing and her ways of disciplining her child were not making any progress.  Instead of ignoring him, when he is upset, she now asks “him what is wrong”? she is more loving and caring and makes sure his needs are met.  She finds herself going back to the program workbooks to review them and continue learning.

Mom says “ My son went from not speaking to now speaking three languages, Spanish, English and Arab, all thanks to First Things First.”