My sweet, sweet Landon! I love him with all my heart!
Thank you everyone for praying for us so much the last few weeks during this time of getting Landon "evaluated" based on his speech.
Landon is 17 Months old! his speech has not improved really since he's been about 10 months old, and he shows no sign of desiring to communicate with us in any way except for whining and grunting. No matter how much I felt like he should be, or how much emphasis I put on it.
So we took the necessary steps to get him evaluated (per our doctor's recommendation) and I last posted here regarding our decision.
This past week we had his "final" evaluation to see if he does actually qualify for some type of Speech Therapy and to make sure his hearing and vision was ok. Thankfully his hearing and vision are fine, which I was not surprised by, I was not worried in those areas at all.
As far as his speech, he is at about a 9 month old baby's level and that is even taking into consideration the fact that he was 6 weeks early.
The ladies that "evaluated" him were wonderful. There was about 5 professionals, all in different areas of early development, and they did great with him. To start off they were very very impressed with his cognitive, gross and fine motor skills, and social development. He did some things that developmentally a 17 month old should not be doing yet, as far as stacking things in the right size order or matching shapes and putting them in correct holes. They were very impressed with that.
I was wondering about his social development too - b/c he is so timid and hesitant. but they said that was really fine and nothing to worry about, just a little more shy and laid back.
As far as his speech - he does need some help. The told me that his constant drooling that gets worse if he is active is b/c those muscles around his mouth haven't been "awakened" yet. They gave me some tips on how to do that. They were also very helpful about showing me different ways or tactics to try to get him to understand he needs to try to start imitating, communicating, and responding to me! That was all very helpful.
And moving forward - and speech therapist will be coming to my house about once a week at first and depending on how he responds it might lessen. Then in 6 months we will reevaluate to see if we reached his goals we set (at the evaluation) and if he still needs further assistance.
I struggle with this - b/c so many people will respond to me by saying -"oh doctors just want all the kids to fit into a chart/timeline and kids just don't grow like that." Or "he's fine, my child didn't speak until he was 2 and then he was fine". or "don't stress, by my 6th I didn't worry anymore and they all turn out fine". And although I will always struggle when I'm told these things, mostly b/c I want everyone to think I'm the Best Mother Ever; (being completely honest), it comes down to Richard and I as Landon's parents, knowing him best, and doing what we think is best for our child in this situation. It is not going to hurt him in any way, and why not help him in this area of communication if we have the resources and availability so that he doesn't get more behind.
I mentioned these things that everyone responds to me with to the professionals that I met with - and they were very reassuring that I was doing the right thing. They also said that when they see 3 or 4 year olds with a delay at that age they wish so bad the parents would've brought them in earlier b/c it is much easier to correct.
So overall - this is our decision and our choice. We believe we are doing what is best for Landon. and frankly I'm tired of hearing the whining and grunting at me to get my attention and I don't know what else to do to help him start using his babbles.
I will hopefully keep you all posted on the outcome and how everything goes. Thank you again for so much support and prayers and encouragement that we have received during this time! It means a lot to us that our friends and family care so much about us.
But for now
Landon we love you
with all our hearts!
5 comments:
You are a great mom, Jess! Every parent has to make their own decisions of what they feel is best for their child. We have chosen (after much research) not to vaccinate. I am a nurse and get much flack about it. Above all, we trust our children to God. You are doing the right thing if this is what you and Richard feel comfortable with. Praying that Landon does great with his therapy!
Hey Jess! I think it's great that you're taking the time to do something about your concerns. My brothers had similar difficulties, and had speech therapy when they were a little older than Landon. It was hard, because "they're twins" or "they're boys" but my parents were able to get them evaluated because they weren't speaking "up to par" (as if there is such a thing). But in our case, it was wonderful, because we were able to get them help early, and now you can't even tell that they stutter. Good for you!
I am sure you will be so glad you made this decision! I have several friends whose kids have had therapy for various reasons and they always seem make such great progress!
Even though you had told me about this, I enjoyed reading more about it. And, you are completely right - you are the parents and you are the ones that have to make the decision! No one else can make it for you - or should judge you for it! Praying that he TAKES OFF with talking over these next 6 months!
Jess, I'm so glad that you guys are able to get some help for Landon! I hope you start to see progress quickly! So thankful that he's doing so well in other areas, too!
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