Speech Sample - Suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech - 21 months

I decided to go back into the family video archive and try to pull some audio files that are representative of Ava's speech at different points in time. I've already posted something recent and a video from November of 2010 when Ava was 21 months old.

Here's something from about three weeks later (12-19-2010). Ava has found something interesting on the floor. It looks like a sticker of an eye that has fallen off of something and she is pointing to it and "talking" to her Daddy about it.

This was taken about two weeks before she was evaluated by early intervention, about four weeks before a private SLP and I began speech therapy, and about six weeks before she began receiving speech services through early intervention.

It was however, after I had accepted that there was a significant delay and that I needed to schedule evaluations. I began to consciously try to encourage more vocalizations and one method of doing that is to "echo" back what you hear from your child. You hear my husband doing that with Ava during this clip.

Keep in mind that she is almost two years old here.

They Called

Our diagnostic evaluation is officially scheduled. December 15. I spoke with the coordinator of the diagnostic team that will be evaluating Ava. They'll be sending someone out to her school the week before her evaluation to observe her and then we are supposed to allocate all morning starting at 9am for the actual evaluation.

I was nervous as soon as the person on the other end of the line identified herself, so my initial impressions probably aren't super accurate, but I didn't get a great vibe. I can't even quite pinpoint why exactly. I just got the feeling somehow that she already didn't think Ava will qualify.

My thoughts scatter in so many different directions when I think about the evaluation and they're all contradictory. First, I feel I'm embarrassed because I might be wasting their time - Ava probably isn't severe enough any more to continue to qualify for services. The next moment, I'm scared that I'll get that same terrible feeling I've gotten after her initial evaluation and after her formal articulation test. The one that sinks down to the pit of my stomach when I realize how far behind her peers she still is. I worry that she'll do too well and then I feel guilty that I can possibly want her to do poorly. What kind of thought is that for a mother?

I need to just relax. The evaluation is almost three months away. It doesn't do anyone any good to spend those three months obsessing over what may or may not happen. And ultimately, whatever happens, it will be fine. Everything will work out.

It is so easy to dispense such advice, even in my own mind. Now to just follow that good advice...

Movie Night

We have recently started movie night in our household. Once a week or so, we pick a small-child friendly movie. We sit in the dark with a special treat (last night: Necco wafers) and watch the movie - all four of us together. The children are pretty sensitive and during any tense moments we often end up cuddling both children and reassuring them that it will be all right. We tell them that we do not, in fact, have to "quit" the movie.

Our first movie night a couple of weeks ago was the Curious George movie. I thought it was wonderful. It was relatively conflict free and the only part that devastated the children involved animal control briefly taking George away. Last night we watched Ponyo. While the plot was not perfect, it enchanted the children and was interesting for the adults. Definitely a success.

One of the best parts of movie nights has been watching how magical it is for the children. You can just see the wonder of the storytelling in their exclamations and the way they sit on the edge of their seats. I adore watching Ava hop up during the credits and dance to the final song.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for low conflict movies? Traditional Disney movies haven't worked well. My kids are still too little/sensitive for traditional Disney villains. I even unsuccessfully tried Finding Nemo the other day. I could really use some fresh ideas.