Speech Therapy, days 3 and 4!

 Elma working on her speech sounds!  Elma was with us last year- very Quiet and Shy then...!  This week, day 3 she decided we were OK...and she has been "talking" ever since! Her little brother and mom are with her (they traveled from their north Island of Negros to get here by bus and ferry!) On their first day her brother (4 years old) had what appeared to be an asthma attack, which turned into pneumonia!! ICSF paid for his antibiotics; it's a financial strain for these families to get medical care of any kind. Had they been at home, it could have been much worse! He was in the hospital the first 3 days- once mom returned to stay with Elma- she was MUCH more cooperative to TALK in speech therapy! He has recovered and is now joining us in therapy! He has no speech needs; he is a little leader!

Luziel, hard at work! The children from Negros speak Ilongo which is  a completely different dialect/language than the children here in Mindanao. They learn and speak English in school but with limited use.  Luziel is 6 years old and can print her name (LONG name) to perfection!

Fhebie is reading from an atlas we brought with us thanks to donation from families in my office and my sister!  She can read beautifully in English although she speaks does not speak it.  Every afternoon when we see the children at the church (that they are staying at for 2 weeks) she greets us with "Good afternoon Mam. Susan Stempel and Mam. Theresa Snelling"!  She is very proud of her greeting!1

Angelyn (aka "Tata") was with us last year and has grown in leaps and bounds!  She has excellent penmanship, improved speech and is quite the leader in the group!  She was trying to teach Tarah (below) how to "pop her lips" for a speech sound!  Such a sweet girl who has had a difficult life, but has the perserverance of warrior!

Tarah is new to our group this year. She had her palate repaired three months ago!  Her speech has progressed amazingly in one week!  We get one more week and then I think her speech will continue to get better and better with time!