Courtesy of Austin Forsyth/Instagram
Joy-Anna Duggar Reveals Son Gideon’s Learning Struggles: ‘He’s Just a Little Bit Behind’
Progression is key. Former 19 Kids and Counting star Joy-Anna Forsyth (née Duggar) revealed her son, Gideon Forsyth, was a “little bit behind” with learning abilities and brought him in to a professional to test his skills.
“We went ahead and scheduled a screening test for Gideon,” Joy, 24, said in a video, which she uploaded to their family Youtube channel, FollowtheForsyths, on Saturday, February 19. “For a few months now, I’ve kind of had a few concerns about his learning. I feel like he’s a little bit behind.”
The former reality star acknowledged that “it’s not great to compare him to other kids.”
“I also know he’s 3 years old and I don’t want to, like, have too high of expectations, but I just want for my peace of mind and for him, to go get it checked out,” Joy added, after mentioning she noticed he hasn’t been “talking that well.”
The Counting On alum then explained she was taking her 3-year-old to a family friend who does cognitive screenings for children.
“I know my sister Jessa took her son Henry into get screened about a year and a half ago,” Joy pointed out. “He was a little bit behind, but they took him in a year later and she had used all the different tips that our friend had told her to do, and he was, like, ahead, [and] doing great.”
After getting Gideon ready for the day, Joy — Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s ninth child — brought him to the location and recorded the learning exercises he was tested on. The instructor then gave Joy a rundown of the youngster’s results, explaining that he “did really well with expressive [language],” but his receptive language “could use a little bit of sharpening.”
The two also discussed helpful practice ideas that Joy can do with Gideon at home, including coloring different designs and practicing how he uses scissors.
Joy previously opened up about how she homeschools Gideon and her 1-year-old daughter, Evelyn, in December 2021.
“We normally sing the alphabet song, say our numbers, shapes and colors,” Joy wrote at the time over an Instagram Story. As the eldest of the two, Gideon looked like a pro with reciting the ABCs. He even “learned his shapes really quickly,” the former reality star wrote in a separate Story caption. Yet, she added that he was “still struggling a little” with other shapes.
The mom of two then talked about her family’s goals for 2022, which encompassed herself, husband Austin Forsyth and their two children.
“We’ve been talking a lot about goals for this next year, what our plans are,” she said via Instagram Stories in December 2021. “Something we decided to do this next year is at the beginning of each month we’re going to talk about our goals for that month, and I think that’ll help us stay more motivated on our long-term goals as well.”
Joy and the extended Duggar family ended the year on a shaky note, as her brother Josh Duggar was tried and found guilty of one count of possessing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography in December 2021, In Touch confirmed. His sentencing date is currently scheduled for April 5 at 9:30 a.m., and he is incarcerated at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas while awaiting his court date.
In response to her brother’s conviction, Joy and Austin, 28, released a statement via Instagram Stories in support of the guilty verdict.
“We agree with the judicial system’s verdict, and we are thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly to protect children and help prevent child sexual abuse material,” Joy wrote at the time. “We are praying for Anna [Duggar] and her children.”
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