I try and think back to when we started to notice the fact that Abby wasn't verbalizing as much in her communication. I'm not sure if it was around her 15-month check up or if it was closer to her 18-month checkup. But there were small things that were catching our attention over the weeks and months that really suggested to us she might need a little extra help. Sure, she had her first word (Mama), followed by a short list of others: "Dadda, yeah, juice, bye" and finally "no." She knew how to use sign language for two words: "please" and "more." But other than those words, we heard no other distinct or recognizable words out of Abby from her first birthday through her second birthday. It was a long year of encouraging, repeating, reiterating, hoping and worrying.
Family, friends, co-workers, doctors and even acquaintances had much to say about it. Many people told us her delayed speech was because she was a 2nd child and her older brother did all the talking for her. Others said the problem was us, the parents - we gave in, we spoke for her, we didn't make her try hard enough when she was asking for something, etc. And still others said be patient... her time will come and she will talk when she wants to.
That brings us (finally) to the other day when Abbigail had a full speech evaluation. It was something that I had been anxiously waiting for for months. I wanted Abby to be seen by a pediatric speech pathologist and really break down for Brian and I how she is really doing for a 26-month old. We knew in our heart of hearts, but we wanted an outsiders perspective - one who was a professional.
When Abby and I walked in, we immediately felt welcomed into a very loving and caring place. After only a few moments of waiting, Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy came out to the lobby and introduced themselves to us. Their whole focus was on Abby, but made me feel so at ease from the beginning. Once back in one of the very kid-friendly evaluation rooms, Abby immediately let her guard down and started interacting with Ms. Amy and the toys that were at her disposal. From go, Ms. Amy was seeing what sounds Abby could say as they "played" back and forth. She also wanted to see how Abby interacted with her and of course how well she understood communication. Meanwhile, Ms. Leah and I sat at a nearby table together. She opened a brand new tablet of paper and picked up her pencil. She looked over at me and asked me a question I wasn't prepared for... "So, tell me about Abbigail."
In just a split second, I was overwhelmed with emotion along with my fears and worries for Abby. The tears started flowing as I began to try and tell her about MY Abby. I was taken back by how emotional I had become just explaining when and why we started to have concerns about Abby's speech.
Over the course of the next hour, Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy (who was on the floor with Abby "playing" the entire time) asked me a whole series of questions about what Abby could and couldn't do when it came to communicating (both verbally and using gestures), understanding and physically doing certain tasks appropriate for her age. I learned a tremendous amount about what sounds are harder to make and thus learn (ones that come from back of the throat or entail making your tongue do funny things) vs. the simpler ones (where you just have to pucker and use your front teeth). I was also told many times that Abby did such a great job and she is such a happy little girl. We talked about the number of ear infections that she has had (6-8 in the last 2 years) and how that could possibly be a factor given the water "stuck" in the ear causes sounds to be muffled and then a child not being able to learn to say the correct sound(s). We will be scheduling one in the immediate future.
The people at All for Kids are great, very caring, incredibly professional and absolutely loving towards kids. Abby is going to be in great hands for sure. Brian and I will meet again with Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy to conference and talk about the goals given what they have evaluated. It feels so incredibly relieving to know that someone (who knows what they are talking about) is going to give us feedback for Abbigail. So for now, Abby will have her speech therapy session every Friday morning starting in two weeks. I know she is on the cusp of more sounds and more words... I can't wait to hear them all.
Family, friends, co-workers, doctors and even acquaintances had much to say about it. Many people told us her delayed speech was because she was a 2nd child and her older brother did all the talking for her. Others said the problem was us, the parents - we gave in, we spoke for her, we didn't make her try hard enough when she was asking for something, etc. And still others said be patient... her time will come and she will talk when she wants to.
That brings us (finally) to the other day when Abbigail had a full speech evaluation. It was something that I had been anxiously waiting for for months. I wanted Abby to be seen by a pediatric speech pathologist and really break down for Brian and I how she is really doing for a 26-month old. We knew in our heart of hearts, but we wanted an outsiders perspective - one who was a professional.
When Abby and I walked in, we immediately felt welcomed into a very loving and caring place. After only a few moments of waiting, Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy came out to the lobby and introduced themselves to us. Their whole focus was on Abby, but made me feel so at ease from the beginning. Once back in one of the very kid-friendly evaluation rooms, Abby immediately let her guard down and started interacting with Ms. Amy and the toys that were at her disposal. From go, Ms. Amy was seeing what sounds Abby could say as they "played" back and forth. She also wanted to see how Abby interacted with her and of course how well she understood communication. Meanwhile, Ms. Leah and I sat at a nearby table together. She opened a brand new tablet of paper and picked up her pencil. She looked over at me and asked me a question I wasn't prepared for... "So, tell me about Abbigail."
In just a split second, I was overwhelmed with emotion along with my fears and worries for Abby. The tears started flowing as I began to try and tell her about MY Abby. I was taken back by how emotional I had become just explaining when and why we started to have concerns about Abby's speech.
Over the course of the next hour, Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy (who was on the floor with Abby "playing" the entire time) asked me a whole series of questions about what Abby could and couldn't do when it came to communicating (both verbally and using gestures), understanding and physically doing certain tasks appropriate for her age. I learned a tremendous amount about what sounds are harder to make and thus learn (ones that come from back of the throat or entail making your tongue do funny things) vs. the simpler ones (where you just have to pucker and use your front teeth). I was also told many times that Abby did such a great job and she is such a happy little girl. We talked about the number of ear infections that she has had (6-8 in the last 2 years) and how that could possibly be a factor given the water "stuck" in the ear causes sounds to be muffled and then a child not being able to learn to say the correct sound(s). We will be scheduling one in the immediate future.
The people at All for Kids are great, very caring, incredibly professional and absolutely loving towards kids. Abby is going to be in great hands for sure. Brian and I will meet again with Ms. Leah and Ms. Amy to conference and talk about the goals given what they have evaluated. It feels so incredibly relieving to know that someone (who knows what they are talking about) is going to give us feedback for Abbigail. So for now, Abby will have her speech therapy session every Friday morning starting in two weeks. I know she is on the cusp of more sounds and more words... I can't wait to hear them all.
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