Time just flew away...
Wednesday, 5. August 2009, 08:01:47
It sounds almost unbelievable that it has already been a year since I came to Germany, somehow everything is a little blurred, so many things got crammed into 365 days that I struggle to remember it all. It was a brave thing, moving like we did, but I am as sure now as I was on the day I decided that coming here would bring our family to a better life.
Of course there are challenges, and even tough we have overcome most of the logistics of moving to a different country, culture and language assimilation and related problems, life still has a way to throw some other hurdles in our path, but then that is true no matter where you live.
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The kids are both now attending kindergarten, Julia started yesterday. All went well, she enjoyed the toys and was happy that her brother was there to play with her. I can't help but worry though, will she adjust as well as her brother? Since coming to Germany we have had Julia diagnosed with an Autism Spectre Disorder. We are trying to find some therapy for her but the language barrier and our little knowledge of the health system here is making it a bit hard. Julia's main issue is that her language skills are underdeveloped, even in Portuguese. So learning two languages simultaneously is, I fear, setting her back even more. My hope is that in going to kindergarten and by being close to her brother she can better learn to adapt and eventually try to speak both German and Portuguese and also improve her social skills. There is so much running through my head it is spinning, so many questions and so many fears. The only thing that keeps me going is the certainty I feel when I look at her, that she is a very happy little girl, that she does communicate in her own way and shows us how she loves us.
I have read a ton of books and articles, roamed through hundreds of web sites and still come up feeling like I don't really know much how to deal with this. I know how to deal with my daughter, I know her needs, her ways of speaking to me and to others, but this is just me. I want to help her be able to communicate with others in a way that they can easily understand. I just don't know how I can help her become more verbal, I fear language therapy in a language she does not understand (German) will not be very helpful at present. Every little word that she utters brings such joy to my heart, but I want more, but my urgency is not Julia's. She is quite content with her few words. I guess the greatest challenge for me is to pace myself to her rhythm, and patiently help her understand why it is important that she speak. I know she can, she understands everything I tell her. It's just a matter of her wanting to be more verbal.
WIDGETIZE