Jehan

Jehan had always been special. In more ways that I can think of.

His heartbeat has always been rapid. To the extent that the paediatrician recommended that we see a specialist to rule out that he had a problem with his ticker back when he was a week old. That was an "uh oh" moment. I remember Shahirah and I feeling devastated and helpless again. Why? It was very much like when we first found out about Putu's condition. But, the feeling of helplessness struck us much closer to home that time. Our Jehan...

Alhamdulillah, Jehan's OK.

Back to Jehan being special...

Well, he didn't start to walk until he was 15 months old. He began speaking later than the other kids his age. Once he was ready, though, he picked up the skill by leaps and bounds. Now, we need to tell him to stop. And he does his own narrations when playing the recently bought PS2 or when he's at the laptop playing online games.

He didn't want to go "potty" until he was 5. It was very hard for me to walk out with XXL-sized disposable diapers and the curious looks on the faces of the checkout person or the guy behind me in the queue. I remember vividly following the advice of the wise that children needed to be "trained". So, we "trained" him one night on the potty that we bought for him  and out of desperation, we told him that he couldn't get off of it until he "went". It was a long, long wait and it ended with him falling asleep on the potty. I felt like a monster for making him do that. And I know that Shahirah didn't feel like a million bucks either.

But once he was ready (many months later), he went on his own. Without being prompted. He just said that he needed "to go" and then went into the bathroom and sat on the throne as if he'd done it a million times before. And it just went on from there as if nothing earlier happened. You should have seen the grin on my face...

We also gently prodded him to read, introducing him to Ladybird readers with funky titles like, "Sheriff Showoff" and "Stunt Duck", among many. I remember reading to him the book that we bought a day earlier and reading it to him. I was reading it to him in bed and he was reading it with me, prompting me with the words from the coming pages. Only, he wasn't looking at the pages. He was about to nod off, lying on his side. Away from the book. He had memorized the book from the night before. From what he had heard me read and pointing at the pics on the pages. I didn't know whether to start worrying or celebrate. I had read somewhere that dyslexics have amazing memory as one of their many talents to cope with their condition.

His attention span is shorter than the other kids so he had to be constantly engaged in order to stay focused with whatever he was doing. His writing skills are improving but you should have seen what it was like before!!! He writes his name really well but there will be the odd "mirrored" letter J, B, P, D etc.

So, we brought him to Singapore to see Phaik Soo who was trained in the Ron Davis method. She couldn't confirm it then as he was only about 5, but based on the finding that his dominant eye, hand and leg weren't consistent, it was another indicator that he might have the condition that Robin Williams, Thomas Edison, Picasso(among many others) have. Okay, okay. Leonardo Da Vinci was dyslexic too. You knew that.

Back to Jehan. 

You can ask him to count and he'll gladly do that for you when he's in the mood. But ask him, "What comes after (pick any number) and he'll look at you and give you a response. Sometimes the answers would be right, sometimes close while others would be way off. And then the inevitable "I don't want to do this any more, Daddy".

We'll have to bring him to Phaik Soo again next year to see what the situation with Jehan is.

As I'm mostly at work and Shahirah has time during the day, we registered him at the primary school near Grandpa's house. It's a short 10 to 20 metre walk from door to door. But.....

The headmistress and the teachers that she passed that day didn't seem friendly at all. No acknowledgement to the anxious parent-with-the-kid-in-tow, no friendly smile. A warm hello would have been cause for a small kendhuri.

During Eid when Weng Soon came over and the conversation turned towards Hoi Yen's success in $ri KDU, I was convinced that the difference in the premium that you pay for these $chools with the additional activities and meals and the teacher-student-parent relationship was worth it.

And I'm also convinced that Jehan would cope better in a less-crowded environment with better supervision and monitoring while at school. This he wouldn't be getting at government schools where he would not be noticed, ignored even, flying below radar. I would have difficulty coping with the situation if Jehan was miserable at school. In fact, I'd be absolutely heartbroken.

So, the decision has been made. The deposit has been paid to Beaconhou$e and we'll just have to hope for the best when Jehan goes to Year 1 next year.

I know I'll be the proud, tears-running-down-his-cheek parent when his first day at $chool comes around.

I love you, Jehan.

Update 2009:

Jehan is now in Year 2 Rembrandt.

Sending him to Teacher Sun Sun in Klang every Wednesday has helped him with his reading ability. He's now able to manage the Ladybird books, actually reading them and not just reciting the words from his amazing memory.

At Beaconhou$e, he is taken out from his regular class about 4 hours in the school day to be tutored with 3-4 other kids.

He's doing great. I would know.