Tag: Speech

Is Speech Therapy Still a Part of Our Lives?

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Yes!

Once ‘J’ went to Kindergarten, we had to part ways with his Speech Therapist that he had been seeing since he was 2. I may have been the most distraught, buuuuut luckily she will always be family to us!

For the last two years, ‘J’ has been working with the school’s speech therapist who has been great. He’s been working hard on the sounds that still give him pause and has been progressing nicely along the way. After talking with his Speech Therapist, he will no longer be receiving an IEP for speech next year, but will be receiving speech through the school. Not too much of a change for him, just less paperwork on the back end. His mind tends to move faster than the words come out, so conversationally, it’ll be great for him to continue receiving services. We can all hear the difference speech therapy has made for him over the years.

As I mentioned in the last blog, I co-host the Magical Mommy Monday podcast. Remember that speech therapist that is now family? She was kind enough to come on and chat with us. I may have cried….just a tad…due to the impact she’s had on our life and the love she has for ‘J.’

Click here to listen to the episode and learn more about speech therapy.

Guess Who?

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It’s Me!

Oh wait, that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the game.

Guess Who? was a favorite of mine when I was younger and I made a special note to Santa that ‘J’ might love it as well.

In ‘J’s’ school, they assign a child as the Leader of the Day. When they do this, the teacher gives out clues to see if the children can guess who the leader will be. Hearing ‘J’ talk about this sparked the idea that he may love this game. And it’s been an enormous hit! He’s obsessed!

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Although he had a speech delay and has come so far from that point, there are definitely still parts of speech he’s working on. This includes pronunciation, sentence formation and articulation. I’ve found this game to be an excellent tool to help in this process.

We have to take turns asking questions. Since he normally wants to play about 10 rounds at a time, my husband and I can use this time to help him formulate those questions, use proper pronouns and improve on his adjectives.

Clearly he hasn’t caught on that we’re using it as a learning tool as well as a game or else he may have tossed it to the side by now! Hopefully he never does. I love how much he loves playing the game with us.

When the Student Becomes the Teacher

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‘J’ has been receiving speech therapy for 1 year and 6 months. Prior to speech therapy, he was a big grunter. Grunts took the place of words. To sit here today and see how far he has come amazes me.

Now that his sister has been starting to talk, he has taken on the role of trying to teach her new words. He says them slowly, points to his mouth and tries to get her to repeat them. It’s beyond adorable. Of course it typically happens when my camera is not easily accessible.

Why I haven’t put GoPros on them by now, I have no idea.

We are so thankful for his speech therapist. We hit the jackpot with someone that ‘J’ took to, feels comfortable with and talks about even when she’s not around. He has learned so much from her, which he is now using in his teaching style with his sister.

He’s still working on perfecting words and his sentence structure, but he gets better everyday. Soon enough we will have not one but two chatterboxes in the house.

Indoor Activities

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As a kid, I was not a fan of arts and crafts! Becoming a stay at home mom, I’ve definitely gone outside my comfort zone and tried new crafts and activities here and there. I’m thankful for Instagram and Pinterest! If I’m not doing exactly what I see in posts, then it will get me to think of a similar idea tailored to both ‘J’s.’

Last week was our Spring break and we kicked it off with six inches of snow on the first day and a rainy day the next! To say I’m over winter and ready to be outside with some nice weather would be an understatement. The kids love going for walks, playing at the playground or just hanging in the backyard. I’m itching to do more of that! Needless to say I’ve been trying out new activities with help from social media.

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Like most kids (and adults), ‘J’ loves LEGOs! When I saw this all over Pinterest, I knew we had to try! I printed up some LEGO tower patterns and got out the Duplos.

*Side note: one day I gave ‘J’ an online IQ test just for fun and he had to match patterns. He was so into it, he asked to “play” it again the next day, so I knew he would be into this version with LEGOs!

This activity is great for gross motor skills, learning patterns, practicing colors and following direction.

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Moon Sand

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An indoor sandbox? What kid would say no to that?!

I was a little hesitant to try this one since I wasn’t sure if the ‘Js’ could keep it contained. But I got out a big sheet and took a chance. I’m so happy I did!

There are different recipes out there for making moon sand. Due to the supplies I had around my house, I went with 5 cups of flour and 1 cup of vegetable oil. Once I started mixing, I probably added a little bit more of both. I would definitely recommend the 5:1 ratio as a good starting point. The sand shouldn’t be too powdery but not too thick either.

I mixed it in a disposable cooking pan, threw in some toys and sent them on their way! The pictures are from the beginning with only a few items. By the end there were plenty of figures, cars, cups, spoons, etc. all enjoying the indoor beach day. This activity kept my 3 year old occupied for about an hour straight. Less for my 1 year old, but that’s to be expected.

Cheerio Tower

This was something I saw and threw together based on the few materials I had.

Even though I’ve seen it bigger while using raw spaghetti, why not try smaller play-doh shapes and some toothpicks? It’s all about improvising! Another great activity for gross motor skills, as well as counting (and of course a built in snack).

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Play-Doh 

Not a DIY activity, but a gift from the Easter Bunny instead. Great timing for a snowy/rainy spring break!

I’ve mentioned before that ‘J’ is obsessed with letters, but play-doh is high on his list of favorite things to do. When I saw…um I mean the Easter Bunny couldn’t resist leaving it for him!

An all in one box where you can practice letters, make faces while discussing emotions, match up letters to the right animal or write with a special play-doh pen. A bonus: this activity is great for practicing speech too!

 

The bottom line is, if I can board the DIY activity train, so can you!

 

 

Stand-up Comedian in the Making

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Having a child with an expressive speech delay taught me to appreciate vocal milestones so much more!

A little over a year ago, ‘J’ had no words. Now he’s turning into a stand up comedian!

If your kids are fans of PBS like mine are, than you’ve probably seen Sid the Science Kid. A segment of that show is called “Good Laughternoon,” which seems to have been inspired by Laugh-In’s Joke Wall. Sid and his friends tell jokes on the playground through shape windows on the jungle gym. ‘J’ has put his own spin on this by using the window of his playhouse to do the same.

It’s so fun to watch him come up with jokes and crack up while doing so. I’m loving the creativity.

It still amazes me to see how far he’s come and all that he has accomplished.

From Grunts To Words: Our 1st Year With Speech Therapy

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I wrote this back in September. Although a little outdated, it explains how this journey began.

September 2017

10 months ago our 2 year and 3 month old son grunted instead of talked. His birthday is in June and we knew at that point since he wasn’t talking, he either needed a little more time or we may need to have him evaluated. We decided to go through the summer, give him some time and see what September brought. 

Where It Started

At about 4 months old, he started sleeping with a Mickey stuffed animal and at 14 months he was saying “Mickey.” This was also the time he started walking so we thought he was right on track with developmental milestones. After a few months, we noticed new words were not being introduced. Sometimes he babbled mama and dada but never in context. Every once in awhile we thought we would hear a “hi” but it was a stretch. About a month before his 2nd birthday, we realized we hadn’t heard “Mickey” in awhile. We kept an ear out for awhile and realized he wasn’t saying it, whether prompted or not. This was our first red flag. Not only had no new words been introduced, but now the 1 word he did have was gone. He spoke in grunts, pointed to things he needed and wanted and we understood it all. He turned 2, we gave him the summer and by September nothing had changed. We were afraid of pushing him if he wasn’t ready but more afraid of holding him back from being the best he can be if he needed help. 

We started looking on our county’s website for the details regarding Early Intervention Services and getting him evaluated. We kept going back and forth as to whether or not we should move forward. Were we too worried? Maybe he just needs more time. Maybe we need to be doing more. Ultimately, we decided to move forward in the process, which we heard could take some time.

He was evaluated on his gross motor skills and his speech. The evaluator for his motor skills knew quickly he was right where he needed to be in that area. The evaluator for speech could tell he understood everything she said, but wouldn’t use words to communicate back. She had a toy that popped. She played with it over and over saying “pop” until he did.  After a few tries, he said it and we were amazed! A few weeks and many signed forms later, we began speech therapy twice a week for 45 minutes each. Luckily, the therapists we were working with also conducted a mommy and me class twice a week and we took the opportunity to attend those as well. All of this was covered by the county and we paid nothing for our son to begin his journey towards speech. 

Once he was approaching his 3rd birthday, about 7 months in, he had to be re-evaluated since the services would fall under the school district once he turned 3. There was a debate as to whether or not we would be able to continue because of how much he knew and understood. Luckily, they could see that he still needed work on sentence structure and pronunciation. We were approved to continue services twice a week for 30 minutes each until his 4th birthday. 

Where We Are

One year later from starting the process, we’re about 10 months into services and have a chatterbox that just started Nursery School. I’m not crying, you are…

Looking back at these 10 months, we think about all the little milestones. Saying “boo” for blue-amazing! Using words in context-wow! Putting 2 and 3 words together and now using sentences, asking questions and singing the Frozen and Moana soundtrack – verbally he’s a completely different child. 

To say I’m grateful for the service coordinators and speech therapists we’ve worked with, would be an understatement. They offered support and care for our son and our family that we could never begin to repay. The work they do, the patience they have and the guidance they offer is above and beyond any expectations I had. I’m happy we will continue to work with our same speech therapist. Our son is so excited when she’s coming over and to us she will always be family. 

My advice to other parents would be to trust your gut. If you feel there may be a physical or speech delay, have them evaluated. The evaluators will let you know if your child needs more time or if they could use some help. It’s worth it for them to have the best opportunity to grow!

Now that we’re in January I can say that he absolutely loves school! His teachers and friends are great and he’s learning so much. His speech continues to improve and I’m so excited by all the progress he’s made!