I took John for an eye test this morning -- he broke his second pair of glasses in his fall on Monday.
I was dreading it, because John can't read at all, or communicate very much. I had warned them before we went.
Anyway, we had a young optometrist, can't have been qualified long, and I thought it would be a disaster. In fact, it was the opposite. He was patience itself with John, and if he thought John was getting agitated, immediately moved on to something else.
John was brilliant, too. Although he couldn't name many of the letters, he started air-drawing them with his finger -- his own idea. On one board, there was an N, which he drew correctly. The next letter was Z and he said 'the same but over', and drew that too. That really amazed me, that he could perceive the relationship.
So top marks all round, I came away feeling very humble.
I asked the optometrist if he had had any training in dealing with cases like John, he said no. He agreed that it should be part of the course.
I think a complimentary letter to his manager and head office is in order.
I was dreading it, because John can't read at all, or communicate very much. I had warned them before we went.
Anyway, we had a young optometrist, can't have been qualified long, and I thought it would be a disaster. In fact, it was the opposite. He was patience itself with John, and if he thought John was getting agitated, immediately moved on to something else.
John was brilliant, too. Although he couldn't name many of the letters, he started air-drawing them with his finger -- his own idea. On one board, there was an N, which he drew correctly. The next letter was Z and he said 'the same but over', and drew that too. That really amazed me, that he could perceive the relationship.
So top marks all round, I came away feeling very humble.
I asked the optometrist if he had had any training in dealing with cases like John, he said no. He agreed that it should be part of the course.
I think a complimentary letter to his manager and head office is in order.