Logan qualified for Early On services with a speech delay on January 5th when he was 16 months old. He wasn't saying any actual words up until that point. That day, he shocked me by saying "cookie," but he hasn't said it since. Things have gotten better for our communication, though. He has picked some sign language. He has his own versions of "more," "please," and recently I think he is trying to sign "eat." He is also using a few approximations for common words. For example, he says "ba" for ball, "ca" for car (or any vehicle), and "ga" for dog (or any animal). Lately, we think he might even be saying "yeah."
There have been a few other words that I thought he might have been saying like "color," "carrot" (he loves carrots!), "cow," and "cup." I really haven't heard any of those lately, so I am not sure if he was really trying to say them or not. I don't know if I should be worried about the possibility that he is losing speech... He did used to say "mama" and "dada" occasionally, but he stopped that awhile back, and when he said them they were just sounds, not words that he associated with us.
He has continued to point, and shake his head (or really more of his whole body) "yes" and "no" and he will choose between things if you offer him two choices. The cutest thing is that he now folds his hands when we sit down at the table to remind us that it's time to pray. He is super observant and will let us know if something is out of place like if the baby gate isn't up or the DVD player was left on. I know he understands a lot, and I am excited that he became interested in books in the past week or two. This is huge! I am trying not to be frustrated, but I feel like he should be saying a bit more now that he is 17 1/2 months. On the other hand, he has found lots of non-verbal ways to get his needs met, so I guess it's not as important to him as it is to me.
I am really thankful that he is getting help with his speech development! I'm getting lots of support, too, and in ways I didn't even realize I needed. Yesterday, at his weekly playgroup at LESA I learned about what a big deal "W" sitting is and why I need to get him to stop doing this. I knew a small bit about this because the pediatrician had noticed Mia doing it and told me it was bad for her hips, but now I know that it can affect the child's core strength. And more importantly in Logan's case, it can further hinder his speech development. They gave me some exercises to work on with him, but honestly, I haven't done them yet. (I am still doing my own PT exercises twice a day for my bursitis, so that takes up a fair bit of my time.) I am hoping that things will pick up and communication with Logan will be smoother for us. For now, I have decided I need to focus on the progress he has already made!
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