Crazy Kids

DA walks into the Speech Room and glances at the materials on the table in front of me. With his typical defiant tone, he says, "I'm not doing that!" and walks out. CV comes in and reports that DA is walking farther and farther away. I pretend to not be phased -- in fact, I don't even get out of my chair. For all I know, DA and CV are probably in cahoots. I calmly tell CV, "Well, I'll call his teacher if he doesn't come back." Next thing I know, DA rushes in. Instead of sitting down, he goes to my dry erase board and starts drawing the following.

As soon as he finished drawing, he asks me,"Hey! You know what that is?"
I'm thinking, how cute, he drew a happy face inside a travel pillow. "No, what is it?" I naively ask.
DA says, "A face wrapped in butt cheeks!"

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Where in the world do kids come up with this stuff?? The saddest thing is that I actually think that was funny!

A little history about these two kiddos. I secretly really enjoy seeing them because I know I'm always in for a good laugh. It wasn't always this way, though. I used to dread seeing DA because he was soOOoOOoOo difficult to work with in a group. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he has ADHD or ED (but he doesn't; he's in for language impairment). So I started seeing him 1:1, like all the other kiddos of mine that exhibit challenging behaviors in a group. I like to think it's like punishment for them, but on the real, I think they kind of enjoy it because they can be themselves and not have to front like they know more than they do (and feel lesser if they make mistakes). Ironically, ALL of the kiddos that I've "punished" have turned out to be my favorites to work with. It's just so different and usually pleasant to work individually with a student.

Since DA was doing really well 1:1, I introduced CV into the dynamic. Well, turns out these two rascals are homies. These two fewls clown around so much that the first time I saw them together for therapy, I made them promise that as long as they really work when they're with me, then I will keep them together. I had never seen DA soOoOo serious and compliant. So far, it has worked out incredibly well.

My history with DA: he is the only one that openly defies me. He still tries, but we always get past it. It's like a routine every time, but I don't really care b/c it's really just a battle of wills and I always win anyways. =P

About CV: he likes to speak to me in Spanglish, just to test me and see how much I know. Much to both of our surprise, I usually know more than we both expect. He is also the one that I am constantly feeding. Actually, they both come into sessions "starving," and I, being the sucker, feel bad for these growing boys so I end up giving them healthy snacks if I have any (with the usual, "Dude, you HAVE to start eating breakfast! Don't expect to get fed when you come to speech!"). CV is ALWAYS asking if I can go to Taco Bell for him. Totally cracks me up. Last week, he told me how he sold his $25 Toys R' Us gift card for cash...and then he busted open his velcro wallet to entice and bribe me to go to Burger King or Taco Bell for him! CV is also the one that is always messing with me about MySpace; i.e., telling me that he sends messages on MySpace to my BF and that BF tells him about how bad I treat my BF! Crazy kid!

I don't know how we get any work done, but we really do. If I've learned anything about scheduling for group therapy, it's that putting the kiddos with challenging behaviors with a buddy proves to be really effective; somehow the chemistry creates the right amount of healthy competition and motivation.