As with so many things in life, our recent trip to the pediatrician caused us to take an unexpected turn off the road we had been traveling.
Maddie has mostly been on target with her development, and, in some ways, far beyond where a typical child her age “should” be. Speech, however, is the one exception to this.
We have been concerned with Maddie’s speech development for some time, and spoke to the pediatrician about it back at her 18 month well-child visit. Maddie’s been a healthy child these last 6 months, so we haven’t seen our doc since that check- up in January.
Maddie is growing verbally in the sense that she is putting 3 word phrases together, but her number of words is not where it should be. Also, she has some issues with a couple of vowel sounds, along with a few consonant sounds, too.
After speaking with our pediatrician at her 2 year well-child visit and giving her some examples of Maddie’s language, she recommended we have Maddie evaluated by a speech pathologist and also have her hearing tested.
Many parents would be nervous wrecks after hearing something like this. But, like I said, her language development is the one thing we’ve been concerned about for some time. This did not come as a surprise to either of us, and we’d much rather address and tackle a problem today than pretending it isn’t a concern, or just hoping it goes away.
Craig and I are both very rational and logical about pretty much everything. We’re ready for all that is to come, and will do whatever needs doing to get Maddie up to speed with her speech.
Along with having her evaluated, we just started her in a nearby early education program. I told our doc that Maddie seemed to grow verbally after her summer camp experience, and our doc said she has seen kids like Maddie flourish in a group environment.
I was lucky to find a spot in a program nearby, and Maddie is now going to a 2 year old program, 2 mornings a week. She brings her backpack and lunch tote, a snack and her cup. She has a calendar of lessons and events, and her very own teachers.
I wanted an official “first day of school” photo, but she wouldn’t stand by herself. So here’s Maddie and Kate on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, Maddie’s first day of school.
And once she was standing against the wall, I was able to snap a few more. This one was too perfect and oh-so- “Maddie”.
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Very cute! I’m sure she relishes the lunch box!
That second pic cracks me up. Hope this ends up being just what she needs!
Maddie is so adorable!! I’m sure this will be great for her!
your daughter is adorable–happy first day of school to her!
preschool worked wonders with my daughter (3)–she’s become so much more adventurous and outgoing and chatty. they call her ‘hollywood’ at school because she always wears her sunglasses–she loves it!
I can sorta relate. We were worried about Jake and his speech but come to find out, he was just tongue tied. A small surgery and now, we can’t get the kids to stop talking. Its like he is making up for lost time.
I hope it all works out for you and Maddy.
It seems that she is very ready for school. Your daughter is so cute.!
Adorable pics! And I totally can relate to the speech thing. We’ve had the boys evaluated a couple of times, and they always just miss qualifying for services. They start preschool in a couple weeks and I’m hoping the socialization pushes them in the right direction.
My son, who’s 2 1/2, is far behind where he should be in his speech. He only says mom, no, yah and dis ya (which is the creole they speak here for this here). The doctor also wants him to have a hearing test but long story short his adoption isn’t finalized so I can’t take him out of the country and no one here does the test so we are waiting.
I hope Maddie’s tests turn out alright and the school environment helps get her up to speed!
Cheers
- Rainforest Mommy
So happy that you are a parent whom is proactive with these things. I have spent many hours trying to convince parents that an evaluation won’t hurt anyone and will only be a positive in the long run. So many parents though feel that there is a stigma attached.
I also applaud you because there is a huge connection between children with difficult in language development and future difficulty when learning how to read. The connections are obvious.
I am sure she will love her “school”.
Adorable pictures! I can’t wait for first day of school photos… or wait, can I?
Oh, too adorable!! I’m so glad that you were able to get her into a program, and I would bet it will make a huge difference. I have always been fascinated with language development and speech….would major in it if I were choosing a career now!
You are a good mom….I am amazed at how many would keep waiting, when so much can be done early on.
My Maddy is also speech delayed, due to multiple ear infections leading to temporary hearing loss. She had tubes put in at 18 months and has been babbling up a storm since about 24 months. I’d love to read more about the processes your daugther’s early education program utilizes.
Signing worked VERY well for us but she now only uses the sign for milk.
She too has difficulties with consonants…especially end of word sounds.
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