The June Shelton School

the june shelton school sits on the corner of arapahoe and hillcrest in the building that once housed the prestonwood baptist church. every single time i drive up to that building i am overwhelmed with gratitude.
how can i not be?

david and i speculate that we have spent more money on the last four years of Sam's education and therapy than we did on both of our college educations combined. and it has been worth every single penny. we estimate that we will spend in excess of $100K by the time she graduates from 12th grade.
and we pay it gladly and with a grateful heart.
were it not for the shelton school, sam would not have the slightest chance at a normal life.

shelton is a private school. one of the most expensive in Dallas/Ft. Worth. as well as one of (if not) the best. we have been hugely fortunate in that sam has received scholarships from them each year. the shelton staff is phenomenal. there are none better, of this i am certain.

sam receives regular testing, daily speech therapy, weekly occupational therapy, physical therapy along with all the trappings of a typical education - music, PE, library time and drama.

they use a modified montessori methodology in the classroom so learning is largely student directed.

sam is participating in what started as a pilot early intervention program at shelton. on a private grant. small classes for children with learning differences AND speech challenges. so not all classes at shelton offer a speech therapist AND a teacher. only those classes participating in this program. there is rigorous testing annually to monitor the progress of these students.

i know this pilot program at shelton is being scrutinized by other schools across the nation and beyond. i know that the shelton administration has presented findings on this program at national and international speech and language conferences.

and still, i am not an apraxia expert. i don't have to be.
i live with it every day.
i don't read all the literature out there - as i once did.
when we finally had a diagnosis, i did my homework.
i asked the questions. i listened and and begged.
and sam started at shelton. and i have never, once, looked back.

for any quality of life that sam achieves, we owe gratitude and credit to the june shelton school.