Late talker

Shea came along when my oldest was 5 1/2. She wanted a little sister but a boy was ok too. I was on the cusp of turning 40 and had never imagined to have a newborn at that age but that is exactly what happened.

Looking back now, Shea seemed an easy baby; quiet, slept through the night early, good eater and easy going. He was our blue eyed, blond haired boy. Physically he was perfect, nothing unusual until the 18 month check up. Our doctor ran through the standard checklist and Shea's lack of words was flagged. It was true. He babbled but no words, in fact he didn't seem to mimic. Didn't seem to want to copy.

She referred me to the Child Find program through our local Elementary School.

Honestly, I didn't think there was anything wrong with him. There seemed like so much light behind his eyes, I felt that he was taking it all in but not talking about it. I just thought he was a "late talker" with all the comforting vagueness that term can muster. Everyone has heard stories about a child who didn't speak until he was 3, 4 or 5. Albert Einstein, in fact, did not speak until he was 5. There was so much anecdotal evidence that I felt like I shouldn't worry too much.