Benett went for his first of multiple speech assessments yesterday. He is too young to give a formal diagnosis, which we knew, but like Jonah, it was nice to hear what the SLP had to say.
His receptive skills, that is how well he understands and interprets what we are saying to him, is that of a 15mth old. Now this is of no concern because, well, he is a toddler with limited attention span, and also, it could be a difference of 1-2 points to put him at an 18mth level.
His expressive language skills were what we wanted him to be seen for. He is in the age group where anything could happen. We could see sudden language spurts begin, or he could improve slowly and continue to be delayed.
The SLP determined that his expressive language (vocabulary) is that of a 9-10 month old. I was not at all surprised. Yes, he babbles...ALOT, but his actual word list is very limited.
So, we have a few things to work on at home. One is to encourage the idea of mimicking. This is an area that he struggles with. Once he figures that out, we can start some actual techniques to encourage some first words.
So that's about it! Nothing shocking, and really, this is just another road we've been down before. If Ben's genetic makeup is similar to his brothers with respect to speech, then at least we are ready and we have nothing to worry about. We know and trust that he will be in good hands and that everything will be fine.
After all, worrying is just a waste of time, right?
His receptive skills, that is how well he understands and interprets what we are saying to him, is that of a 15mth old. Now this is of no concern because, well, he is a toddler with limited attention span, and also, it could be a difference of 1-2 points to put him at an 18mth level.
His expressive language skills were what we wanted him to be seen for. He is in the age group where anything could happen. We could see sudden language spurts begin, or he could improve slowly and continue to be delayed.
The SLP determined that his expressive language (vocabulary) is that of a 9-10 month old. I was not at all surprised. Yes, he babbles...ALOT, but his actual word list is very limited.
So, we have a few things to work on at home. One is to encourage the idea of mimicking. This is an area that he struggles with. Once he figures that out, we can start some actual techniques to encourage some first words.
So that's about it! Nothing shocking, and really, this is just another road we've been down before. If Ben's genetic makeup is similar to his brothers with respect to speech, then at least we are ready and we have nothing to worry about. We know and trust that he will be in good hands and that everything will be fine.
After all, worrying is just a waste of time, right?
November 25, 2010 at 11:53 AM
That's right Keri - only 10% of worries ever come to fruition! & he is in great hands, even just with his Mom & Dad!! It is easier the second go round, don't you think?
November 25, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Much easier! With Jonah I felt so distressed about it all and felt so alone in a sense. With Ben, it's kind of like "Pfft! Bring it on!". I feel ready this time!