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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I Can Hear You

I can hear you.
It seems like you don't know that,
Do you?
I am sitting here,
In this chair.
Trying as hard as I can.
Or I was, at least.
Are you?
You ask me questions,
But you won't wait for me to answer.
You talk so fast.
And you don't check that I am ready.
When I'm quiet I'm good
When I'm noisy I'm bad
You boss me around,
Press this,
Touch that.
If I do or if I don't,
It doesn't matter.
You have already decided.
You have decided that I can't.
You have decided I can't hear you.
You have decided I can't understand.
But I can,
I can hear you,
I can understand.
Maybe I don't understand every word.
But I do understand your tone.
I understand that text message
Is more important than me.
I understand your data sheet
Is more valuable than me.
I can hear you.
When you talk about:
Your husband,
Your traffic jam,
Your student who is too low to get it.
I can hear you.
I know that student is me.
I know, and,
I can hear you.



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12 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 23, 2014 at 8:47:00 PM EDT

    This makes me weep. Then, it makes me ANGRY. I'm so sorry your friend/client, C.D., had to be exposed to such ignorance.

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  2. Whitney BJuly 23, 2014 at 9:07:00 PM EDT

    AHHHHHH! Thank you for putting into words what I feel when people don't understand our non-verbal students. My non-verbal student doesnt' use his device, but I do know that he understands everything.... grrr people.

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  3. Melissa ReedJuly 23, 2014 at 10:08:00 PM EDT

    So true. Wish people could appreciate and understand ALL students. thanks for writing this.

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  4. JaimieJuly 23, 2014 at 10:43:00 PM EDT

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. JaimieJuly 23, 2014 at 10:50:00 PM EDT

    Thank you for this!! So tempted to post this on my door tomorrow...I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble for it though...

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  6. jessJuly 24, 2014 at 6:03:00 AM EDT

    Shouting this from the rooftops. Thank you.

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  7. Courtneytcu98July 24, 2014 at 9:24:00 AM EDT

    Beautiful. Sharing with my fellow SLPs. We all need this reminder.

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  8. UnknownJuly 24, 2014 at 10:49:00 AM EDT

    For my son, who is 8 years old with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism and who is just learning to communicate with his device, thank you. He is getting a new teacher this year and I will be sure to share this with him or her. I hope David will have the voice to thank you himself someday.

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  9. check travelJuly 24, 2014 at 6:07:00 PM EDT

    thank you for share this article

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  10. teresaAugust 6, 2014 at 1:33:00 AM EDT

    So sad. Unfortunately I see this often. I see and hear it with our autistic kids at school. "They don't talk, lets just assume they don't understand anything we're saying".

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  11. AnnaAugust 13, 2014 at 1:19:00 AM EDT

    Touching. Makes me wonder every time I wronged someone without realising it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMay 6, 2015 at 10:34:00 AM EDT

    This is an awesome poem to give to caretakers of the elderly that have lost their voice as well. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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