I haven't been able to post as regularly as I used to for good reason: I have a very important job right now. I don't make any money at it but it's as rewarding as the one I had when my kids were little. When our Little T moved back in with his mom over the summer, he'd just had ear tubes put in. He'd suffered frequentl ear infections that left his ears full of fluid and we figured that's why he'd stopped talking...he couldn't hear.
At the end of summer, he still wasn't talking and so we figured we needed more help before T fell too far behind. All the states have programs to work with infants and toddlers who are delayed and so a team of really nice people came to visit and observe. That led to recommendations for more tests to figure out what's going on--or at the very least, rule out what's not.
So what we've learned so far is that T's vision is great, his tubes are still in place and working just fine, and that his hearing is within normal limits. Is he not speaking because the temporary but prolonged hearing impairment caused him not to develop the muscles he needs to make consonant sounds and so on? Maybe...
Could it be he is on the autistic spectrum? Could be...the specialists note some behaviors that indicate it.
Could it be something else? Yes...It's a mystery that's still being puzzled out.
In the meantime, though, there is a teacher and speech therapist who've been coming out to work with him and teach me how to encourage speech and communication. I say me because Linda and TB are both working now and I watch, care for and play with T during the day. This is the job I was speaking of, although I wouldn't really call it work. I love Tomas, we all do, and he is a joy and blessing to us. I love taking him places as well as just hanging out and interacting with some of the shows he loves to watch, like "Dora the Explorer", "Go Diego Go" and "Blue's Clues".
All of the things the teacher and therapist have suggested to me (and that I pass on to Linda and the rest of the family) have been really helpful! For instance, they were the ones who said to go ahead and respond to the shows on Noggin even if T doesn't. So we did and then we noticed that T began to respond as well! T does make some sounds and now he is pointing and using a couple of signs. He gets so excited when he gets his meaning across and we do too!
Yay!
Everyone says he is such a sweet and adorable little guy. He sure is!
Anyway, that's why I don't update much anymore. That's okay...I'll be back again regularly one of these days!
Posted by Cassie at November 30, 2006 09:17 PM | TrackBack