My "Little Angel"

Not the best of pictures, he's quite camera shy, but this is Hussein.  He is the little five-year-old I tutor part time.  My friends and I have nicknamed him "my little angel" because quite frankly, often he is not!  I wanted ti have a positive attitude as I headed off in his direction each afternoon and that is how he ended up with his unknown nickname!  He really is a sweet little boy.  He just turned five, he's a boy, and I see him after he's had a full day of school so some days he's a tad naughty!

I met Hussein's parents my first week in the country in July, through a lead at a morning ladies coffee.  He was home for the summer, both parents worked, and they were looking for a tutor who could help him improve his English before school started in September.  They went on Holiday in July, and I started with him in August.  Every morning for two hours.  Pretty quickly I realized his English was fine, but there was definitely something going on with his communication skills.  School started and I took a break for three weeks, so he could settle into school. The parents and I both agreed that there had definitely been progress in his communication skills since early August.  Well, three weeks ago he finally got into a center in Dubai for assessment.  They had been waiting six months!  The Speech Pathologist did part one of a screening and then asked for him to return the following week. They also asked the parents if I would come along.  It was so great to hear from a professional in this area exactly what was going on with this little boy.  He does have problems in the communication area, but it is just basically huge gaps in his vocabulary.  Why?  There are probably many reasons, some are easy to see and some we will probably never know.  He is most assuredly "the little prince" at home, so he hasn't had the need to communicate as often as he should have!  Anyway, I was given deliberate lesson plans to work with him. 

Now I go every afternoon (no weekends!), for one to two hours depending on his mood, I work with him after school.   In less than two weeks, all of us (parents, teachers, maid, and myself) are noticing a huge difference!  We are all forcing him to use a full sentence every time he needs something (by repeating back to us before he gets item) and the progress has been nothing short of amazing!  The other day when I arrived at the apartment and said "hello" to him.  He said; "Should we take the bike to the park today Ms. Pattie?"  I had to hide my astonished face and almost started to tear up I was so overjoyed!  That is the longest sentence I had ever heard him use!  My only fear now is once we get him really talking, we will probably never be able to stop him!

It's a great job, only six to eight hours per week.  Super flexible, and it's wonderful to be working with little ones again.  It's also very gratifying being able to help a family that had such a great need.  I thank the Lord for opening the doors to the right position for me and for giving me the right words to speak to this little boy and his family every day!