well, crap, Speech eval here we come

mhop

I've been worried about C's speech for a while (she didn't start babbling at all until 7 months adjusted) but kept hoping she'd be ok.  She is very vocal so I was thought...  Anyway, we had her 1 year IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) review (with EI) today and she is definitely behind her adjusted age with language, especially receptive language.  So, now we're waiting on a speech eval and hopefully therapy.  We'll add that to weekly PT, 2x/month OT, and weekly EI. 

I know therapy and EI are the best things for her, but I just kept hoping her language would be average.  I know my baby is smart, but being a special ed teacher, I can't help but stress about these things...

On the good side, the past few days she's started really crawling. I mean up on her hands and knees, head in the air, moving forward kind of crawling.  Add this to her recent pulling up, and she's trucking along with her gross motor skills!

ijack

Hugs! I know it's hard. It would be nice if they could be "normal" in just one area. It sounds like she's making great strides with her motor skills though!

lstaylor73

Poor mommy!  Give the kid (and yourself) a break.  She's just has a major developmental breakthrough with all that activity.  The Speach will come eventually.

mhop

lstaylor73:

Poor mommy!  Give the kid (and yourself) a break.  She's just has a major developmental breakthrough with all that activity.  The Speach will come eventually.

You're right, Laura. I know she could be doing so much worse. It just hurt seeing all of those language results below her adjusted age when I was so excited about her motor skills results coming up.  Plus with my job I think I'm much more sensitive than I should be.

lstaylor73

mhop:

You're right, Laura. I know she could be doing so much worse. It just hurt seeing all of those language results below her adjusted age when I was so excited about her motor skills results coming up.  Plus with my job I think I'm much more sensitive than I should be.

You are right, but the beauty of it is because of what you guys do for a living your kids will always be ahead of the game.  You've already done a kick ass job with PT and her eating, and those are the core problems for preemies.  Language is just a speed bump.  She's just a really busy kid right now, and doesn't have time to have deep intimate conversations about the universe on command.  LOL!  

TriciaJoy

It seems lke we need to get a break SOMEWHERE, right?

I hope she just takes off one of these days..

Great news on the crawling, btw!

ijack

What everyone keeps reminding me is that it's totally "normal" for kids to fall behind in one area when they're really trying to work on another skill. They all swear that E will start talking once she figures out the walking thing, I don't know if I believe them, but it makes me feel a little better

lemen99

ditto the others!  Great to hear she's crawling and I think she'll do great with a little help from ST. 

mhop

lstaylor73:

  You've already done a kick ass job with PT and her eating, and those are the core problems for preemies. 

 I think it's totally ironic I think that my preemie's one "advanced" area is eating.  I mean what kid who can't walk or talk can tear bites of food off with her own fingers and feed herself or eat a whole chicken nugget when handed it (she shuns the ones I tear into pieces).  Maybe that's the area of development that she's focusing on rather than walking or talking? lol

april062604

try not to get caught up on the things that are challenges for her....and try to focus on all of the challenges that she's overcome. ?she's crawling like a rockstar and soon enough she'll be talking too. ?maybe she's been so focused on the energy she's put into the gross motor skills that talking was put aside. ?before being a mom i was a special ed child study team social worker so i know what you mean about stressing extra hard because of the inside knowledge of what the struggles look like from the inside. ?keep your chin up...

dmblack

I wouldn't worry.  She will catch up.  My DD had her 3 year eval in Feb. and qualified for help with speech.  When we wrote her plan they wanted her to aim for 2-3 word sentences.  Within 2 weeks of writing that she was stringing 4-5 word sentences together.  I wouldn't worry.....she will get there.  My DD now attends a play group 2 times a week thanks to EI.  She is getting help with her speech and I really don't see her qualifiy next year.

Mrs. Destructo

ijack:

What everyone keeps reminding me is that it's totally "normal" for kids to fall behind in one area when they're really trying to work on another skill. They all swear that E will start talking once she figures out the walking thing, I don't know if I believe them, but it makes me feel a little better

This is SO true! My guys qualified for speech therapy when they were evaluated a couple of months ago, when they were in the process of mastering walking. Now that they are walking well they are working on learning how to talk. It's kinda cool (albeit frustrating and sometimes scary for parents) how this works.