"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"
Joshua 24:15
Linwood House Ministries

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Moose's Learning Curve....

I've known for a long time that my Moose has had a speech delay. I tried talking to her doctor about it at each appointment, but didn't push the concerns I had. Finally at her 3 year appointment, I asked him to refer her to speech therapy, that I was very concerned.

Yesterday was her "screening" appointment. This is where they determine whether or not the parents are just whacked out nut jobs who are overly concerned about everything.

Turns out, i'm not one of them (in this case anyway).

Unfortunately, now we wait...as with ALL things healthcare related these days. I was informed that she likely won't get into speech therapy until at least January. Emma will be 3.5 years old then, 1.5 years away from the start of Kindergarten. The therapist did however, provide us with two activities to do with her constantly in the meantime. One of them combines a bit of sign language (I want...). Emma is to do this every-time she wants something. Eventually, she will just straight out sign and ask without prompting. The second activity is the "what is it" game. Emma constantly speaks in babble, so, the "what is it" game eliminates the babble, and goes straight to the object. You need A LOT of patience for this game...something this red headed mother does NOT have.

I was told at this appointment that Emma communicates at an 18 month level. This scared me. However, she picked up on a lot of the stuff shown fairly quickly, and I was told that therapy will be wonderful for her and she will succeed in it.

I was also informed that Emma doesn't understand the words, which is why she isn't communicating. She just repeats what is being said to her, but she doesn't know what it is.

After her appointment, I was full of mixed emotions. I first started the self blame thing...I knew there was a problem, I knew it was a big one, why didn't i push it sooner? I felt like a horrible mother, because now my child suffers even more than if I had pushed it at her 1 year appointment, rather than her 3rd. I cried the entire way out to the cottage. Then, I moved on to the sensible emotions...I'm doing something now, that's what matters. I just wish I had the confidence in myself as a mother to trust my gut more and go with it.

So, for now we practice the two "games", and I start looking for more resources to help my Moose communicate better. Thankfully, the daycare Emma is at, has already informed me that they will do EVERYTHING they can to help us with her therapy, including hiring a part-time aide to work one-on-one with Emma. Plus, there is Abi's school, WMES, where Emma will be going when she is school-age...They have the resources to come along side and help Emma.

The therapist told me that it will be a long road, that Emma has a very long way to go, but that once she gets into therapy, she will 100% absorb it and do well. Unfortunately, she will likely still be in therapy while going to school.

On a funny positive side, the therapist couldn't get over how "social" moose was, how despite her communication problems, she wasn't the least bit affected by it, and seems to not even know she isn't communicating. In her brain, she is communicating, we are the ones with the problem ;) She couldn't get over how Emma made everything fun, and wasn't the least bit shy or scared. Usually kids with this sort of disorder are very introverted and shy away from any sort of interaction with strangers...not my moose!

So now I have a child with ADHD, and a child with a speech delay/communication disorder...what's next for this gene pool? Only time will tell...

Thankfully the good Lord gave me a sense of humor!

Peace,

D


9 comments:

Justin Bradbury said...

Hey Dan, great site to keep us up to date on your wonderful family. These kinds of challenges are great opportunities to stick close to the Lord. He sees farther down the road of Moose's life than you and Billy can ... and it will be okay. You're doing the right kinds of things, and you have people around you both to support you and pray for you. see you soon ... Justin

jim ritchie said...

Danny, I will pray every day for EMMA and TWICE a day for you!! May GOD SHOW HIS LOVE TO YOU ALL!...LOVE UNCLE JIM.

Kim Burry said...

Hey Dan, Thanks for sharing your blog. My thoughts and my prayers are with you. You and Billy are amazing parents and all three of your kids are lucky to have you. Every child is different in the way they respond to things and it is evident, by what the therapist said, that Emma is amazing. I remember the feelings that you described when we first found out Cole was going to need a hearing aide. God, family and friends get you through all the tough times. Take Care and God Bless Sweetie. Kim

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