Last week Smiley also went back to the Ear/Nose/Throat doctor. This time his hearing turned up as normal in both ears (yea!), and that drainage I mentioned apparently means the tubes are doing their job.
The problem is the doc is discouraged by the lack of improvement in his speech and raised the idea of a neurological or developmental problem.
Long story short, a panel of 6 specialists will be evaluating him in the upcoming weeks, all predicated on our review of a packet of information that is now at least four days overdue in the mail.
I for one don't think there's something 'wrong'. I think the kid couldn't hear correctly for the longest time and is now just where, say, a baby would be at 8 months (to randomly choose an age).
Look, his screeching and ear-piercing screams are greatly diminished in number and volume, and he's begun to,well, babble. It sounds much like his baby sister's cooing and nonsensical sounds. So maybe it'll take awhile for him to catch up. That's still a long way from saying there's something misfiring in his neurons.
Evidence on my side:
1. He does have what seems like full comprehension of even complicated speech and directions.
2. He's always mimicked the cadence of speech. 'Thank you' is expressed in gibberish, but on sheet music it would follow the same line, if you follow my train of thought.
3. He has a vocabulary, albeit a very small one.
4. Since the surgery he has finally said 'Da Da'. UPDATE: this morning (the 17th) he gave me a hug before work and said 'Dada' loud and clear. This was the first unequivocal use of my name so I was ecstatic and asked him to say it again. He gave me that Smiley grin and said it all over again . . great moment!
Meanwhile he's getting a lot of well-intentioned but irritating attention from people. I am not in denial. If he has a problem, so be it.
But don't jump the gun and assume the worst.
* * *
By the way, with 25 minutes to spare, Happy 70th Birthday to Jaspare and Happy 32nd to Chris!
8 comments:
Children often learn to speak (and walk, and get potty trained, and etc!) on their own time. My mother once commented to me that they were a little concerned about me when I was a baby because I didn't do the baby speak thing. Oh, I babbled and blurbled, but no real ma ma, da da, type things. She said that then one day I just started talking with words and short sentences. That used to tease me that I just didn't have anything to say before then. <shrug> Hey, I'm sure they were meeting my basic needs.. what did I need to say? <LOL> Seriously, I agree with you. Since he hasn't been hearing things correctly he probably just needs a little time to catch up. It's great that Dr's watch to be sure kids are 'on the curve' with their development, but some kids are perfectly normal and are just a little behind the curve on some things, and just need to develop at -their- speed!
I agree with the above entry, I think Smiley will be fine, just needs time to catch up....
Jeanne
All children are different. My eldest Grandson said very little. He would repeat words parrot fashion but seemed unable to string a sentence together. It was quite worrying especially as his younger brother seemed to be doing better. However, in the last few months he has come on in leaps and bounds. He can now count up to 25, can name all colours and never stops chatting. He is also a whizz at childrens' computer games and knows many songs by heart. As your Smiley has had an ear problem then no wonder he is only just at this stage. Like you say, do not jump the gun.
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it has been my experience as a teacher that the youngest in the birth order tends not to talk as much or develops speech later. sometimes its just that they are content for others to do the talking for them.
sometimes the experts are experts at nothing else besides making people worry needlessly. you know your child so stick with your gut instincts.
regards and love the blog!
Dan
I have perused a few entries and like what I see. So, no lurker here, I wanted to let you know I'm adding you to my alerts. Come check my little blog out when you get a chance.
Sam
agree with you...it's probably nothing but a delay that'll work out now that the hearing issue is sorted. have you tried sign language? learn to sign a few of the words you use everyday and see if he picks them up. supposedly boys speech usually progresses slower than girls. keep it all in perspective.
~Bernadette
And when did Einstein start talking! :-)
If his speech is improving steadily after this operation...too coincidental. Do what they say to rule it out. It is amazing how some do not realize some things. Like parents who think there child can read but they have learned to memorize books & don't realize it. We just talked about this in class. I got them to realize to give them another book with similiar words in different sentences & see if they can still read.
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