I know, I know. Everyone always wants to know didactic things. Why does Clara stop going to speech therapy? Why Clara is not using AAC devices? How can you understand her?

I always say that kids do not come with instructions manual, but for kids with disabilities is all another story. As parents we need to deal with our feelings about not having the kid we expected, we need to deal with our family trying to help or not help, we need to deal with doctors that always think they know more about your kid than you, with therapies all over the week, and trying to live a real married life…

Carlo and I as a couple had a good advantage that in the first years when Clara was born we didn’t realize all the consequences of Clara’s stroke, Facebook and social media didn’t exist so we didn’t have the opportunity to have contact with other families with same problems. When Clara had her first seizure I didn’t know she could have one. For one side it is scary, for the other side, it is freedom. If you don’t know you are not in fear all the time.

And we decided that Clara would live without looking and confronting always her disability. I can write these words right now, but it was not a decision that we said for each another, just happened. And I’m so happy about it!

Today someone asked me why Clara is not doing speech therapy. She did for years, and years and years. Doctors said to us that she will never be able to speak. So why does she need to go to speech therapy if she can go to a recording studio and enjoy signing?

Here are some ways that she can communicate:

Sending Kisses: she does that since she was a small kid and she loves it. Everyone loves it. Now it is a kind of her trademark, sending kisses in all the videos.
Hugging: Clara loves to hug. During covid time she learned to ask people if it is ok to hug.
Laughing: She laughs a lot, and I like when she is not participating in the conversation but she is listening and following it, so she laughs in the other room.
Copy and paste: She uses Imessage and WhatsApp to send messages. Clara has a very good photography memory so she knows the meaning of some words and she copies and pastes.
Emojis: when she does not know how to say a word, she goes to WhatsApp opens the keyboard, and shows us an emoji
Text-to-speech app: This is a good one that we are trying to know. Clara can’t write so she says what she wants to communicate and we write or she has an archive where she can find phrases that are already done.
AAC app: it is in my dream list, but Clara refuses it. I have already configured different apps in different times of her life. Clara had difficulty managing it with her mobility problem and she thinks it is too slow for her. Let’s see in the future!

That's it. I have millions of other things to do. I love you guys!
If you have questions and want to know more about Clara, our family, or our business, write an email to info@clarawoods.art