The Author, Marla Bosch
The
Story of How I Came to Create
Language In Life
I
began working as a Speech Language Pathologist in 1997 on
the Kainai Blackfoot Nation. Over the next 11 years,
I continued my work with the Blackfoot people on the Kainai
and Piikani Reservations. To work with the Blackfoot
people has been a blessing that I can only communicate to
those of you who have been lucky enough to have been
welcomed by a First Nation. The culture and faith of
these people is beautiful and immense.
However, they are also a people who face great challenges
within their communities. Residential schools, and
other social factors have taken their toll on these proud
people. As I began traditional speech therapy in the
schools, I quickly realized that this was only a temporary
fix to what was truly needed. Many children enter
schools with severely delayed language skills and limited
vocabularies. Many do not know their colors, or their
last names. It is not uncommon for Pre-School age
children to have few words, poor grammar,
and difficulty following directions. Books are
not in every home. Television and video games are
sometimes played for hours a day. Routines are
rare. Parent involvement in the schools is
limited.
As
I began to communicate my concerns with parents, educators,
nurses, and Elders, I came to several conclusions:
1. These challenges are not unique to the Blackfoot
Community. Many other First Nations people are struggling
with the same frustrations and are searching for solutions.
2. All
of these children are loved dearly. Love is not what
is missing.
3. Many
parenting skills have been lost to the First Nations and
Native American people. They were told “We will raise
your children” during the Residential School Period; and
now, two generations later, the effects are glaring.
Suddenly, the world is looking at First Nations parents and
asking “Why aren’t you parenting your children?”
The job of raising and educating their babies once again
rests with the First Nations and Native American people;
however the loss of parenting skills has created a
void. One Elder explained, “I did not learn how to be
a Mother. I was put in a Boarding School at age 5,
and my Mother did not hug me or hold me or sing to
me. Sometimes my own Grandmother would sing to me,
but she had so many others to look after. When I had
my own children, I did not know how to parent them. I
did the best I could, but I struggled.”
As the true needs of these parents and communities came
into focus for me, I began to search for materials. I
needed a program to teach parenting skills from conception
to age 6. I needed to show how to talk to your baby,
and just how smart a newborn is. I needed to show
First Nations and Native American parents the potential in
each of their children, and how that giving children the
best start is something only parents can do.
I could find nothing that related to First Nations and
Native American Communities, and so I began to teach my own
program. I have since
presented to Pre-Natal Classes, Head Starts,
daycare centers, high schools, mom-baby groups, nurses,
and Elders.
I became frustrated that this message needed to get to
ALL First Nations parents (actually ALL parents), to ALL
future parents (i.e. teenagers), and to ALL educators of
children from birth to 6 years. The
Language In Life Program
was borne from this need.