Speechless

Today was the day. H had two ladies come over and evaluate him for speech and general toddlerisms. One was a speech pathologist the other an occupational therapist. They were both very nice and H took to them right away, even though it was 1pm and he was desperately sleepy. They had him when they pulled the first ball out of there many bags. 

Like I've mentioned before, we have been concerned with H's lack of language. And all the books and pediatricians speak of a language explosion that just never exploded. My deepest fear was that there was something more, something trickier and more permanent that was at the root of this delay. No parent wants that to be the case, and I can totally see how getting on the denial train is the easier route. But, it's better to know and learn ways to help. 

H seems right on level with everything OT-wise, if you have ever seen Harry with a ball you are not surprised by that. He did qualify for speech and articulation help. Which means that he is entitled to weekly in-home visits by a speech-path for an hour to teach strategies that H can use to develop skills. I asked her if this would have any long-term effects, and she says he has a good prognosis of having his own language explosion within a year and being up to speed by kindergarten (whoa, even writing that H will be in Kindergarten is a scary thought, time moves!). He might need speech during pre-school if his articulation demands it. I took speech for a few years due to my lisp....hopefully they are better now that they were then. 

So there it is. He charmed them with his smiles and dance moves, and overall happy attitude. I know he'll get the whole talking thing soon :)