I was battling clutter the other day and I found something Shea's teacher had given us almost exactly 2 years ago, a little bit more. October 2007.It was the entire ASL alphabet with a bunch of signs for common words, a big thick heavy xeroxed thing that was psychologically weighty. She gave me 3 actually.
At the top were the words that Shea could say at the time:
mama
dada
up
bagel
beagel (?)
Those were the days when he was basically a non-verbal 3 1/2 year old.
What a difference 2 years makes. Shea speaks full sentences now. Yes, slow and lilted with articulation issues, but FULL SENTENCES!!!!
Shea tells joke, not very funny ones but he does tell them.
He actually sings now and can sort of carry the tune of Happy birthday but he really likes to dance.
Shea tells his sister at the dinner table to "Be quiet. It is my turn to talk."
He asks his buddy, "Did you like the movie, Honon?"
Shea is trying hard to make his mouth work, I watch him focus on it. He wants to connect with the world in a verbal way and gain confidence. He isn't afraid to try.
When Shea only had a handful of words, I looked everywhere for some story and anecdote that would describe how kids with Apraxia progressed. What does 2, 3, 4 + years of therapy and working hard on speech do for a kid? The lack of prognosis drove me to distraction.
That is why I want to show other parents with kids with speech and language issues what is possible and there is always reason to hope. We may not see big jumps on a day to day basis but it all adds up. I have to remind myself of that every once in a while.
When Shea had only a handful of works, I would have kissed the feet of the person who could tell me that Shea would speak full sentences at 5 1/2.
