Leaps and bounds

Jaden and Lela. He decided he would rather play the leapster at this last visit. I think it was his way of dealing with Lela leaving. He was trying to be "tough". He did eventually come around but he was definitely more guarded than he normally is. Bless his heart.

When Jaden was about 22 months old he was evaluated by the Early Intervention Services (BACH - down here) and began receiving speech therapy. Many people told me he would be fine and that I didn't need to worry. I completely understand that. Many children are sort of "slow to start" with things like talking and then just take off and are fine. I've personally known children like this myself. Something just didn't seem right with Jaden though. I didn't realize just how abnormal he was until Luke was old enough to start to eat. First of all, Jaden was super active. He never really stopped long enough to look at anyone and see how they were talking. He wanted to run and jump and throw and hit - all the time. Also, he threw up a lot! We got used to it. We never let him eat with anyone else. One of us was always near him in case he choked or threw up. I felt like his mouth was "lazy" or something. That was the main thing that worried me and made me think he needed extra help.

When he started he had less than 10 words. Probably less than 5. Most "words" were just a repetition of sounds "mama", "baba", "dada", "bebe". Our therapist (and life saver) was Lela. She initially came twice a month. By the fall I was starting to get frustrated because he would make a little progress then, slide back. I have come to learn that this is normal. We talked about it and decided to changed the visits to once a week. In January we started to see some improvement. By March there was a HUGE improvement. It felt like "all of a sudden" there were these words and sentences. It was amazing. It re-affirmed my concern that even with all of that therapy it still took a whole year to really hear him talking at an age-appropriate level. I think the extra trained help was necessary.

We were soooo fortunate to get such a gifted therapist. I think one of the first things Jaden actually said was "Lela". She taught us about how emotions can effect language. Children may be more likely to say words that are connected to an emotional reaction (e.g., something they really like or really want, or if they are excited, mad, etc.). It was easy to see how much Jaden liked Lela when he could say "Lela" before about anything else. It is sad that she won't be coming to our home any more Jaden talked about her coming for days before appointments. We feel blessed to have had her share her gifts with our sweet boy and are excited for the next family that crosses her path. We're sure she will continue to be a blessing to every child (and family)she works with.

Hope to see you at some of the BACH functions Lela! Thank you!!!!!!!