The toddler is officially 3 years 1 month 2 weeks and 3 days old. If I was a lotto player I would play those numbers. My sweet little baby girl is not a baby anymore. But you know your kids will always be your baby! Right? I am amazed at the things she knows now! She loves to sing and gets most of the words right! She counts! She knows the difference between a circle, a triangle and a square! She knows that McDonald's does not close! So, I can't use the excuse that McDonald's is closed when we drive by and she voices her need for nuggets! She knows that Nana bought her the RIO dvd that she loves so much, her owl jammies, her princess jammies and she also knows Nanas ring tone on my phone! Carrie Underwood starts singing "Jesus take the wheel" and she says "Mama, Nana calling!". She's so smart!
When she was 2 we noticed that she wasn't speaking as much as other children her age. She would say "Dad" and "dog" and a few other short words but she had never said the one word I was longing to hear.....Mama! I was worried that she might not have full function of her ears. I don't know why. We always used the excuse that she was never around kids her age or she didn't need to speak because she has 2 older brothers that speak for her. She never had to verbalize her wants or needs because everyone was so attentive and she never had to ask for anything since we were always one step ahead. Or could've been because she was very attached to her pacifier......I'm not proud of that. But, I knew I needed a second opinion. Her pediatrician was no help at all. She always told me to give her time. Be patient. It didn't make me feel any better. I wanted to feel proactive. So, I called an old teacher of my sons who knew a thing or two about toddlers with delays since she is the mother of a son who had serious delays. She heard my story and pointed me in the right direction, telling me that I should always go with my gut when it comes to my kids. That is advice I fully believe in!
I called the Berrien RESA, a local educational service agency. Again, I told my story and the woman I talked to set up an appointment in my home with a speech therapist. She came out and evaluated my daughter. And just as I thought, she was not up to speed. She did show a significant delay in speech but excelled in other areas. So, every other week the speech therapist came to the house to work with my daughter and give me tips on how to help her. In the beginning it made me feel totally inadequate as a parent because the games the speech therapist would play with her were kind of common sense things that I should've came up with on my own, or so I thought. But then she explained to me that as a Mom with a full house and a full schedule it isn't always easy to see the things that are as plain as day to others, even when it has to do with our own children. SO, I swallowed my pride, got over it and got proactive with the situation.
The whole family had to get involved in this program. My daughters main problem was that she refused to verbalize what she wanted or what was bothering her. She did a lot of pointing and grunting. Most of the time everyone would give in and give her what she wanted because she would become so agitated and outraged. That had to stop! She had to start using her words and stop screaming when she didn't get her way. I won't lie! It was awful! She is a persistent little booger! Very stubborn! Many times, it ended in her screaming and me crying because I just couldn't take the stress of her breakdown. But, I learned to stand my ground! After a while I would just calmly explain to her that she needed to start using her words and help Mama figure out what she wanted. Oh! She would still scream but after a while my calmness won her over and she began to verbalize what she wanted. Positive re-inforcement and patience were our best tools.
I will never forget the first time she said "Mama". I was laying in bed, with a horrible cold. My daughter walked up to the side of the bed and put her hand on my face and said "Mama". Oh! I was so happy! I felt rejuvenated in my efforts with her. So, I kept on going, reading to her and playing word games with her until she was spouting out words left and right! One day she screamed dinasour in the middle of the store when she saw a T-Rex toy and I was so proud I did a dance! Dinasour is a big word!! Especially for a kid who just started to say words like "Cup, Mama, ball, car!"...... She still isn't at the same level as other kids her age but she is making headway everyday and is far beyond our expectations in other areas. I'm proud of her and I am also proud of our family for pulling together and tackling this issue. I'm so thankful to the speech therapist who worked so hard with us! I don't know what I would've done without her help!
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