Speaking as gaeilge!

"Gabh mo leithscéal...

Gabh mo leithscéal....

Gabh mo leithscéal....."

I drove along perplexed.

99.9% of the time I understand The Lodger but there's always that 0.1% that will leave me completely at a loss. I'll ask him questions to see if I can figure it out and most of the time it works but not this time.

Due to PWS, The Lodger's speech is delayed. He can say all the words in the world now but he misses the last syllable of most words and some sounds are still difficult for him but he's working on it. This means that to the untrained and unfocused ear, some words sound alike.

Just the other day he announced at breakfast "Mum, I'll help you" and I said, "Fantastic, superstar!". His father and Auntie looked on aghast until they realised he said help, not hate!

And just like everything in the world of The Lodger, practise and patience will get him there.

However this particular time, on the drive in to town, I was at a loss!

"Sorry little bud, I don't understand"

The Lodger replied, "Mum, it's what the secretary says to my teacher on the intercom."

AH, realisation. The Lodger is speaking in Irish!

For those of you who follow internationally, in schools in Ireland, children learn Irish. It's something we always wondered (worried and stressed out) about how the Lodger would manage. Turns out, we didn't need to, he's picking it up naturally.

In school, he eats 'sos' and 'lón', not snack and lunch.

He stands in a 'liné', not a line and when Teacher says so, he will 'Téigh a chodladh' (folds his arms, put his head down and closes his eyes to have a little rest)

He recently used the 'Téigh a chodladh' phrase for his Granny who was pretending to have a rest at the time and she was matter of factly told it was not time to téigh a chodladh yet!

The Lodger is teaching us at the moment. It's been a long time since I've heard alot of the Irish words he knows and uses.

I think it is quite amazing for a little boy with PWS to do such a thing as to awaken a language within us. The Lodger has set us the challenge to keep up with him now. We better get the crash course in Irish done asap.

The Lodger, as always, is winning! Bualadh bos (Round of Applause!)

Jigsaw fun! "Mum, give me a bualadh bos!"

Comments

To lock or not to lock, that is not the question anymore.

It’s approximately 4421days since we got The Lodgers diagnosis of Prader Willi Syndrome. To save you doing the maths: twelve years and almost 2 months ago. We’ve learned a lot in those twelve years- strategies to help distract him from food, tools to help transition from task to task, methods to help him calm down, strategies to keep us all going day to day…. We’ve met many experts in the field of PWS- from doctors, nurses, psychologists, researchers and a range of therapists from speech and language to occupational and physios. We talk with many PWS families- both with children older and younger than our boy, The Lodger. I’ve often been asked if we lock our kitchen. Up until yesterday the answer was ‘not yet.’ Today I sat with him as I was helping him put on his socks. It’s still a tricky thing for him to do- even with all the helpful tips from occupational therapists over the years. Somedays he’ll do it easily, other days he needs h...

Turn around and go home.

Prader-Willi Syndrome. It raises its head when you least expect it. Although in hindsight it was totally going to appear because we did everything we weren't supposed to. The Lodger and Little Bro walk in the woods (not today!) I'll set the scene. It's a lovely autumnal Sunday. The sun is shining, it's not raining and it's not cold. A walk would be just the ticket before The Lodger has his Sunday movie. As you know, routine is important. Movies can't be missed. We decided on our route- the route we call the castle route. You guessed incorrectly, it doesn't feature a castle but if you go off path and really crane your neck you might just glimpse one. However when we got to the woods, I switched the route up. I don't know why. I just did. A moment of spontaneity. Anyway Hindsight. Lesson learned. The new route meant a bit of climbing, so a lot of helping The Lodger and for The Lodger he wasn't able to continue his telling of the story he paused ...

Water, milk….

This week we were driving along and Younger bro started listing food. “Apple, raisins , rice cakes” “Ugh” said The Lodger “Mummm make him stop. He’s making me think of food and it’s not time for food!” So, I had to ask my four year old son to not mention food to his big brother who has PWS, even if it’s food that’s ok for his special tummy. I explained we didn’t want to make The Lodger sad. That sometimes food chat can making The Lodger emotional. Then The Lodger adds in ‘unless I talk to him about food first, then we can talk about it’. ‘Is this because of the Prader Willi?’ said Younger Bro “Yes!” said The Lodger. Being a sibling to someone with PWS is complex. There is always something new to navigate but at four years old he understands more than most people. “Water, Milk..” said Younger bro. “Mummmmm they’re things I drink with food. Tell him the rules again!” said an exasperated Lodger. Younger bro is sharp. I could see his cheeky knowing glanc...

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