Mousie talks
But not as much as she should.
Her assessment was today. The good news? She behaved well, cooperated reasonably well (although she had zero interest in pointing to pictures of kitties or sleeping babies), and demonstrated her gross and fine motor skills admirably well.
The not-so-good-but-not-unexpected news is that she qualifies for speech therapy. She should have more words, and she should be stringing more words together more consistently. Surprisingly, the evaluators weren’t concerned with the intelligibility of her speech, which was somewhat of a relief.
(They did note that she “refused many adult-directed tasks during the evaluation session”, which made me giggle inwardly. I’m not the only one she ignores!)
The I’m-not-sure-how-well-I-can-do-that news involves how we talk to her. We’re supposed to use those two-word combinations so that she can start imitating and practicing them too – like “Mousie’s eating” or “airplane flying” or “Daddy’s cooking”.
That’s not going to be easy. That might even take more practice on our parts than on hers. We don’t talk “baby talk”, and while I understand the reasoning behind using such simple phrases, it’s going to be hard to remember to speak that way to her.
Do I wish I’d come out of this evaluation feeling like a helicopter mommy? Actually, no. CJ and I are both frustrated enough that we’re ready for some help. If I’d been told that her vocabulary was tracking just fine and that there was nothing else to be done, I think I’d feel fairly helpless now. Being told that we qualify for help gives me a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
We’ll get there. No matter how much baby talk we’ve got to do along the way.
June 25th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
You’re right — it’s kind of a relief to have your suspicions confirmed, especially when it comes with a course of corrective action.
Good luck with the therapeutic baby talk.
June 25th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
We were told to talk in shorter sentences too. That ain’t gonna happen any time soon, but we’re trying.
Good luck with EI and Mousie’s speech therapy. You’re right, no one wants to hear their kid needs it but it’s good to have access to those incredible specialists.
June 25th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Oh, I know exactly how you feel, because I experienced the same thing when my son was diagnosed with ADHD. I didn’t *want* him to have a disorder, but it was nice to know that there is a reason he is the way he is, and a way to help him.
Best of luck with speech therapy. I’m sure she will make progress by leaps and bounds.
June 25th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
We’re in the same situation. For the past month we have really been making an effort, and I see improvement already. It is hard to get used to though (we’re both rather quiet by nature).
June 25th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
i so hear your inward giggle…
June 25th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
For two weeks a million years ago Bossy’s daughter stuttered. She was two. A speech therapist advised us to reduce all sentences to a variation of, “Baby want milk?” Which was harder for Bossy to accomplish than a triathlon.
June 25th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I echo Blog Antognist – exactly the same situation for us when Scott was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. I initially had a huge lump in my throat seeing that he was not “normal” and then was overcome with relief that he could be helped (and I wasn’t the cause of his problems!).
June 25th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
You WILL get there. SHE will get there. In her own good time.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:04 am
You know, you think you are doing a good thing by speaking to your children like they are adults, not baby talking to them, and then you get told that you should baby talk to them. So frustrating.
We had the completely surprising diagnosis for Nathan of a combination of a high i.q., high degree of ADHD, and a Non Verbal Learning Disorder. And he needs Occupational Therapy too. I admit I have not been handling it very well. Good luck with the speech therapy for CJ, I bet she makes a huge improvement before you know it!
June 26th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
love the note on adult-directed tasks – so giggle worthy
enjoy the speech therapy (I’ve heard of great relief and strides, even if it does mean shorter sentences!)
June 27th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Good luck. I completely understand how you don’t want her to need help but are relieved that you know for sure now.
June 27th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I still have had trouble putting Rosie’s whole story in words. It doesn’t make it any less real if I don’t write about it, but I’m still resisting somehow…
But really, the news for us is all good. Rosie’s thrived with therapy, and we are all relieved that she can communicate much better. I hope you have the same outcome with CJ.
June 27th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
We went through this same thing with our son at age 2. It was a relief for someone to say, “yes, there is a problem and here is how we fix it!” He did speech therapy for one summer session and then once a month for about a year. At four and a half, he is talking circles around kids his age…I do sometimes long for those days of babbling instead of the constant “why, how, can we’s” that we have today!
Christie
June 27th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Thanks for sharing, as I also followed Chicky Chicky Baby and her experience with EI. I’m in the same situation myself and am waiting to speak with the pediatrician at Baby’s 2 year checkup about meeting with someone to evaluate him. Part of me thinks it’s environmental (being the youngest of 3) while part of me doesn’t want to hold him back from getting the help he (may) need.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Julie, we’ve done therapy for a while now. Hearing that yes, there was a problem and we know how to help was magic to my ears.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Just a year ago I was right where you are now. Little J tested in the bottom 9% on his speech eval. We did Birth to 3 speech therapy for a year (went through numerous therapists – but that’s another whole story) and now the kid is talking in paragraphs. A lot. To be honest, I don’t think the therapy had much to do with it…I think it was just a developmental thing that had to click. It’s hard not to worry, so I won’t tell you not to, but kids have a way of doing it when they are ready. Hang in there!
June 27th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Glad you are getting help! CJ has just had it too easy with her verbose big sis around!
June 28th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
It’s a mixed bag when you get a diagnosis. I’m glad you feel relief at knowing how to approach this and at getting her therapy. Good luck!
June 29th, 2007 at 5:15 am
Hey, that’s the same therapy we’re doing! And the same assessment?!
I’m failing miserably at shortening my sentences, but it is all about the modelling.
June 29th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Been there, done that. Available anytime you need to talk.