My Friend D

I know we are not suppose to have favorites but...sometimes you do. D starting in my classroom about a year ago, he was cute, spunky, and had a head full of bright orange hair. He was a firecracker, quick with the comebacks and he could always make me smile, even on those very hard days. Unfortunately you could not understand a thing he said, he had a speech delay, he could comprehend everything that you said to him, but he could not respond. This was very frustrating for him, and his peers because they could not understand him. I made a point to talk to him at breakfast every morning for a good while and try my best to make out what he was saying to me. He was in my classroom for almost a year, and everyday D learned something new, his speech became a little clearer and I could understand him more.  He was making so much progress and everyone noticed, I was so proud of him. The end of summer was approaching and he did not come to school for a week, I thought maybe he was on vacation. The week turned into months and D never came back. I was so upset.  I still think about him everyday, and hope that he is still making progress.