I feel as a mom of three young children, with one of them having Tourette Syndrome, that showing our gratitude to our daughter’s teacher — Mrs. R — was one of the best things we have ever done. Our daughter was just diagnosed at age 7 while she was attending Mrs. R’s first-grade class.
She reached out to us and expressed concern for some different behavior our daughter was showing. We followed up on it with our pediatrician and then with a pediatric neurologist. While the diagnosis was a hard one to swallow, we were able to see things in a different light and get our daughter the appropriate help she needed.
Mrs. R has remained in our daughter’s life after first grade as a math tutor. Mrs. R has been tutoring our daughter for three years now and has given her the confidence she needs in herself when it comes to schoolwork.
Our daughter feels so secure with Mrs. R, who we owe a lot. Math has been the subject our daughter struggles with. It would take her three hours to complete homework when it should only take the average child an hour — maybe hour and a half.
I would be lost without Mrs. R and have told her to never retire. Mrs. R has helped our daughter maintain good grades in math just by making her feel secure and confident. Teachers must be rewarded for outstanding teaching. Mrs. R not only is a teacher, she is now someone we call “friend.”
Our daughter absolutely loves Mrs. R, and Mrs. R loves our daughter. I can see the stress gone from my daughter’s face when it comes to schoolwork. Mrs. R gave us our daughter back, and I will be forever grateful.
NOTE: If you are from New Jersey and are the parent of a child with Tourette Syndrome, you can nominate one of your child’s teachers for the NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome’s 2014 Educator of the Year Award — given out to a New Jersey educator who has gone above and beyond to help a student with TS. Nominations are due by May 1.
