No Shame (Book 2 - No Regrets)

Chapter Fifty Nine - A Promise

DOMINICK'S POV

  All my calls to Katie go to voicemail and my text messages go unanswered. After getting off the phone with Tyde last night, I spent hours scouring parenting articles and blog posts across the internet. My mind consuming as much information as I could about speech-related anxiety in children.

  I found that I overestimated the power of the internet in giving me a clear solution. Mostly all the articles and blogs were echoes of one another. According to what I read last night, the most common cause of a sudden manifestation of speech-related anxiety are the after effect of a traumatic event. Even if the event is minor, such as getting lost for a minute in the store, a child can become traumatized to the extent of selective-mutism. However, another cause could be a child feeling extremely shy, resulting in heightened anxiety.

Two hours into my deep internet dive, I began looking into alternative ways of communication. Mollie clearly needs a way to express her thoughts and feelings that will be clear to anyone. Eventually, I found a potential solution, cards.

I stayed up until the break of dawn, sitting at the kitchen table working on creating the cards. A few hours and many sheets of paper later, I felt satisfied enough to finally go to bed and get some much needed sleep.

Mollie promptly woke up soon after, which meant it was time for me to also get up.

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"Okay Mollie, I have something to show you." I say as I enter the living room, the short colored stack of cut paper squares in my hand. "Let's take a seat on the floor."

I sit down and rest my back against the couch. Mollie waddles over, giggling as she pretends to be a penguin. She sits down on my lap, her nest of bedhead and tangles hitting my face. I blow her hair away from my face and adjust her on my lap.

I place the stack of cards in front of us. "These are your word-cards." I begin to explain. "They will help you tell people what you're feeling, without having to use your voice."

"No voice?"

"Nope, you won't have to use your voice." I affirm. I pick up the first card, it's colored green with a check mark drawn on it, "This card says 'Yes', you can use this if someone asks you if you want something and you do want it." The next card is also colored green and has a stick-figure waving, "This card is to introduce yourself, it says 'Hello, my name is Mollie. Nice to meet you'." The next card is a colored yellow and has a face with a squiggle for a mouth, "This is for when you feel scared or uncomfortable. It says 'Please give me space'." The next card is colored red and has a bold "X" drawn on, "This card you'll use if you don't like or want something. This says 'No'." The next set of colored cards are colored tan and have corresponding pictures drawn on to let someone know she is hungry, thirsty, needs to use the bathroom, too hot, or too cold.

After I finish explaining, Mollie and I practice using the cards for ten minutes. "Today, we're going to go and get this laminated and put on a little clip. That way they'll be all ready for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Mollie asks, she tilts her head back, her curious eyes looking up into mine.

"You're going over to spend some time with Aunt Aria, remember silly." I say giving her forehead a kiss. "Alright, let's make some breakfast." I say setting the cards to my side and lifting Mollie off my lap.

"Aunt Aria not sick?" She asks.

"Nope. Remember she called us a few nights ago to let us know she feels much better." I say. "You can show her your word-cards. Maybe she'll even help you make some more." I say opening the cabinet to grab two bowls.