Our First Speech Therapy Graduate

A few weeks ago Garren's speech therapist told me that Garren was meeting all his goals, that if he continued to display meeting all goals for 3 consecutive weeks he would be discharged from speech services. On the third week, the day I expected to be his last appointment his speech therapist told me that it was time for his re-evaluation so she was going to go ahead & complete that before discharging him.

Yesterday his re-eval. was completed. Garren only had a slight delay to begin with so it was no surprise that he did just fine. So that was it, yesterday was his last speech session.

He is officially a Speech Therapy Graduate! :)

They NEVER Stop Talking!!!

I just wanted to share a little speech therapy update since it has been a while. There really isn't a whole lot to say other than it is going really really well with the new therapist at the Children's Hospital. Our 2 non expressive boys are Chatty Cathy's now. They talk to just about anyone, including all other children they come in contact with, telling them their name, asking them how they are or what they're doing. They talk in full sentences & use very descriptive words as of recent, ie, the big red Popsicle is cold. I love that they still use a lot of sign language too along with their words, the fore mentioned phrase is usually accompanied by the signs for red & cold, sometimes big but that's usually just Garren's sign. 

The boys primarily work on articulation in therapy now. They are still hard to understand sometimes and will need oral stimulation starting soon just to get them using all parts of their mouth, tongue & throat when talking, Kellan primarily sometimes doesn't use much jaw movement sometimes when he talks. They still use their own language a lot when talking to each other.

Garren quit participating for a while and was almost discharged because of it. The hospital hired on a few new therapists thought & we decided to try him with someone new before giving up completely. Anyone that knows him personally, knows he doesn't 'need' speech therapy but insurance approved him so he's been going along for the ride. Most of the time I wish we could turn his talking off, lol... Unless he is asleep he is usually chewing your ear off!!!

So that's it really, we just keep plugging along. I admit speech day isn't my favorite day of the week but we get it done. We will continue to bring the boys up here through the end of the year after we move but will get a referral to someone closer to home after the first of the year if they still need it. I think Caden & Kellan probably will but Garren will most likely be discharged before we even finish out the year.

Friday Fun!

On Friday mornings the boys have speech therapy.

{Did I ever mention that somehow Garren got approved for speech therapy too? The speech therapist doesn't even really know how the insurance approved him with his evaluation score but they did, we're already there & it can't hurt, so he's been getting in on the action too.}

So Fridays are speech day & since we have started speech at the new place my mom has been coming out every couple weeks & hanging out with us. It's been pretty fun, we have lunch & then hit up some poor unsuspecting store with the boys, like Joann's where I can never take the boys by myself without them dismantling the store. 

This past Friday my mom treated us to lunch at a place we hadn't been to yet. We set up the boys at a table & looked over the menu. My mom went to place the order, while she was at the counter ordering the boys got super excited & started calling for her across the restaurant, 3 boys yelling "GRANDMA..." at the top of their lungs, lol... We were only the second people to arrive for lunch so the restaurant wasn't full but all the employees & the elderly couple there thought is was hilarious, so did the boys! 

I think, or at least I hope Grandma felt a little extra special & not too embarrassed by all the attention :)

Totally Impressed!

Caden & Kellan had their first speech therapy appointment at Wolfsons this past Friday. Originally Caden was the only one scheduled but they had a spot held for Kellan while they waited for insurance approval. As I was packing up the diaper bag & getting ready to head out it struck me that I wasn't sure if they had heard back from the insurance company yet & I didn't know for sure if we would be there a half hour or an hour, so I called to see...

Megan is the incredibly sweet & super efficient receptionist there, they hadn't received approval for Kellan yet but she was going to make some calls to see what she could find out. I went ahead & packed some snacks just in case. By the time we arrived for Caden's appointment (aprox 30 minutes) she had Kellan's approval! 

There was some poor planning on my part for their first appointments. Donna had a conference call marathon on Friday & could not come to the appointment. Ideally, I would have gone back with each of the boys as they got therapy & she would have stayed with the other 2 in the waiting area. It was too late to call in help from anyone else when I realized this so I hoped & prayed that each of them would willingly go back with the therapist on their own & not completely freak out!

To my amazement they took Megan's hand & walked back to the therapist! They each had a 30 minute one on one appointment & came back happy as could be with a sticker! Ms BJ had great reports on both of them, Caden did a lot of talking & Kellan resisted until she got an airplane out & then he said "want airplane" & so on. 

Since their ONE appointment both boys have been a lot more verbal! I'm so happy & excited to hear their sweet little voices more & more!

New Speech Therapy Digs

I got a call last month from Wolfson Children's that they were ready for for the boys (we had been on their waiting list since October) They had evaluation appointments available for the boys immediately but we already had plans to be out of town. It wasn't a big deal, they had openings the very next week.

Caden took the first appointment which was on a Monday. The place was great! It's an office setting & the therapy room is a small, contained room. The therapist worked at a kid sized table & incorporated her evaluation into whatever Caden wanted to play with. She gave him a few options & changed out what he wasn't playing with frequently to keep his attention. They worked together for an hour & Caden did not have a single tantrum, there wasn't a power struggle between him & the therapist & he left just as happy as he arrived, of course he got a sticker for playing so well :)

His results were as we expected, he still needs speech therapy.

I had to reschedule Garren & Kellans appointments that week due to the stomach flu we all had :(

Kellans new appointment was last Monday, I made it back from Gainesville just in time to take him. His appointment was exactly the same as Caden's & his results were the same as well.

Garren's appointment was the next day but due to my dads condition in the hospital I had to reschedule Garren once again. I finally got him in yesterday & he does not need speech therapy, which was also not a surprise since he does enough talking for all 3 of the boys.

All 3 of the boys actually scored better than they did on their 6 month re-evaluation with the old therapist. I think it really had to do with the setting & the therapist working with them instead of trying to control them. I think we're all going to enjoy the new place & the new therapist! :)

Speech Therapy Update II

Well, we have been on a waiting list for speech therapy through the children's hospital for 2 months now. Someone from the children's hospital called & told me it would be a couple months before they could get the boys in so in the meantime we've continued therapy with the current therapist. I didn't want the boys to have a big lapse in therapy & possibly fall further behind. Our appointments have not been any better as far as the therapist canceling & rescheduling at the last minute. She took the last 2 weeks of December off & since the boys have been sick the past 2 weeks we have not had therapy since before Christmas.

Just before the holidays the boys 6 month re-evaluation was due.

I'd love to say that all 3 boys passed with flying colors but those of you that have kids in speech therapy know it's not that kind of test but even if it were, they would have not only failed but they would have been kicked out of class for misbehavior, lol...

The boys did not want to cooperate with the therapist at all! She tried sitting them at the table (like she does unsuccessfully for therapy) & asking them questions but they just kept getting down from the table & wondering away. Then she sat on the couch & tried asking them questions & they would laugh or screech & take off running down the hall.

She told me some of her concerns & the areas they didn't score well in (I can't believe she scored them at all) none of which did I agree with. I know that they know the things she asked like naming body parts or pieces of clothing. Of course they know their body parts & they know what socks & pants & hats & so on are! They also follow 2 step instructions & can name tons of objects on flash cards or in books but they did none of these things for the speech therapist.

As far as their actual speaking goes, Caden & Kellan have really taken off over the holidays! They are repeating EVERYTHING & are also starting to talk in sentences. They love to say everyone's names, even characters in books & on TV. They are getting really good about saying what they want & along with speaking more they are signing more, weird how that worked out. I love hearing their little voices & that despite the majority of their sessions being canceled or rescheduled they are still progressing very well on their own.

I'm considering canceling our service with early intervention now. I really really hate watching the power struggle between the boys & the therapist & Donna & I have decided there is absolutely no way we will be sending them to the preschool here for therapy after they turn 3. The good news is my sister is a speech therapist & has been able to coach me in how to continually work with the boys & encourage them to talk more until we do get in with the children's hospital.

Speech Therapy Update

The boys have been doing great with talking since they have started speech therapy but I can't say that therapy itself has been good.

When we first started I knew it may take the therapist a couple weeks to find us a permanent spot on her schedule, in the meantime she was coming at 1pm, right at naptime. The boys were tired & cranky & it was a fight to get them to participate.

 

After a few weeks I really pushed for a different time & she told me the only other time she has was early morning. I thought that was better than fighting with 3 toddlers at nap time & agreed to 8:30am on Tuesdays & Fridays. 

 

This time was so much better for the boys, a pain for me to have everyone up, fed & dressed but at least it wasn't such a fight to get the boys to participate. All was great until she started coming late, rescheduling or canceling all together. This was happening at least once a week if not more & was always last minute (after getting the boys all up, fed & dressed.) At first I would reschedule for later in the day, even though I didn't understand how she had those times available since she only had 1pm or 8:30am available to schedule us??? After a few weeks I got tired of canceling our other plans & when she couldn't make it at her scheduled time I would tell her we weren't available later in the day.

  

Last week I had a "transition meeting" at the preschool the boys would need to go to if they still need speech therapy after they turn 3. I'm seriously hoping they don't! Well the school is not someplace that I would want the boys going to. I heard a lot of negative language "your bad," "what's wrong with you," "you're making bad decisions." I'm not saying its wrong, it's just not how Donna & I talk to the boys. I also witnessed a teachers aid grab a child by the & jerk him into line when he walked out of line. All of this on top of the school being in an area of town I wouldn't be comfortable in myself yet alone leaving the boys there for the day.

 

The third strike is that this speech company will o longer be taking our insurance after the first of the year & encouraged us to switch insurance companies, what?!?! I don't think so, not for what is just a temporary service.

 

Yesterday at the boys check-up with their doctor I expressed all my concerns. She agreed with me & said since our insurance is covering their speech therapy we do not need to use Early Intervention & she could refer us over to the children's hospitals services. YAY! She mentioned that it would not be home therapy that I would have to take them there for therapy, I am fine with that! I actually think it will be better to get them out of their own environment with all it's distractions. Plus I think office appointments will be more reliable & consistent.

Finally... Speech Therapy

The boys finally started speech therapy Yesterday. What a long process that was! It took 4 months from the time the pediatrician referred them & they got their evaluations until they actually started.

I'm just happy it has started & look forward to the progress it brings. Caden & Kellan have started talking more, still not where they should be but more so then they were. Even Garren is talking more than he was but he didn't qualify for therapy.

The therapist, whom we will refer to as Miss A came for the first time yesterday. I wasn't really sure what to expect of therapy or how the boys would react to her since Caden & Kellan are both pretty shy. Surprisingly Caden took right to her & played right off the bat. She brought a shape sorter out first & they played with the shapes, naming the colors & shapes & placing then in their slots. Kellan wasn't feeling well & just wanted me to hold him. Garren of course was right in the middle of it all! :)

After the shapes she sat on the floor & brought out some flash cards. The cards had objects & animals on them, she would ask things like what it was, what sound it made, what color it was & what it felt like. Kellan again wasn't of interested until the end but Caden & Garren played along well. Lastly she brought out some bubbles & suddenly Kellan came to life! All 3 of the boys LOVE bubbles! They say "bubbles," they sign bubbles, they love blowing bubbles, popping bubbles & chasing bubbles!!! Miss A was finally able to get Kellan talking. By the time she was done all 3 were saying "more," "bubbles," & "please." They didn't say all of it together but would say &/or sign 2 of them together sometimes.

Miss A was also good with telling the boys "no" or to "wait" & "that's not yours," "that is Miss A's," & she also had them helping her "clean up." The boys listened & followed her instructions really well. I was quite happy with that & hope to be able to get them all to start helping put things away when they are done & to leave certain things alone even when it is at their level.

Miss A will be visiting us twice a week which I hope means we will see improvement really fast!

First Visit to Chuck.E.Cheese

While we were at my parents in Orlando we took the boys to Chuck.E.Cheese for the first time.

The boys absolutely loved it!!! It was quite a bit different than I remember it from my childhood. There was more for little kids than I had expected.

Pizza!

Garren wasn't sure about this ride at first but then he

wouldn't get off of it & rode it 4 times in a row, lol

Caden was ready to ride but Kellan was smitten with Barney :)

Kellan holding Barney's hands

Ridin' the rides!!!

I think Kellan is ready to be a jockey, lol

Garren cruisin' with Chuck E

Caden liked the games :)

A boy after my heart with ski-ball!

Garren did a little dancing...

Actually he did a lot of dancing!

Kellan liked the flying bicycle too!

And so did Caden!

It was a really fun night, a little exhausting chasing the boys around but very much worth it!

Friday morning as we were getting ready to head home Garren started saying "cheese." I thought he was asking for cheese to eat but then he'd do a little dance move & say "dance." I finally figured out he was asking to go to Chuck.E.Cheese & dance. This kid seriously cracks me up!!!

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for such a fun treat!!!

Hearing Screen Take II

The boys had their follow up hearing tests yesterday morning & they all PASSED!!! So, that's one less thing for us to worry about & we know that it is not a reason or concern with Caden & Kellan's speech delay.

C, G, & K munching on graham crackers while they wait

We had a little celebratory lunch with "da mom mom"

(I haven't figured out yet if G is saying the mom mom  or putting a little bit of Donna's name in front of mom mom, if she doesn't answer him, he is quick to yell "DONNYA!")

As a result of cleaning the boys ears with peroxide, they are no longer cooperative with having their ears cleaned :( By the end of the week I had to hold them down to clean them when normally they just sit in my lap to get them cleaned & then try to clean them themselves too. Hopefully the memory of peroxide in their ears will pass & they will go go back to being cooperative. They are really getting too big to wrestle with now! 

Luckily (for me) the boys did not grow or gain any weight in the last week, lol...

We were a little concerned about Garren's eye though & asked Dr J if she could take a peek at it. His right eye had been runny & he looked like he had been crying for the past week. I initially thought it was allergies & have been giving him his allergy medication but it didn't get any better. That's because he has Pink Eye. The boys have all had pink eye before but their eyes were really red & goopy, this has just been runny & just yesterday did he wake up with a crusty eye. Turns out that is the difference between viral pink eye & bacterial pink eye. So he got a prescription for antibiotic eye drops with a refill for any of us who may also get it since it is pretty contagious.

Speech Therapy

The coordinator (I don't really know her real title) from Early Intervention came by Tuesday to give me the results of the boys' evaluations.
As I already knew, Caden & Kellan will be getting speech therapy. Garren will be getting re-checked at 30 months just to be sure he is progressing but I am confidant that he is fine, especially now. He is talking up a storm, telling Donna & I & his brothers what to do, what he wants to eat, what he wants to do & so on...
I signed all the necessary forms & am now just waiting on the therapist to call & schedule her twice a week visits.
Should be interesting... :)

Hearing Screen

Today we took the boys for their hearing tests. The ones we scheduled because of the developmental evaluator who said they failed her test.

Well... each of the boys failed in their left ears. The doctor felt it could have been from the excessive wax they have in heir ears, so she cleaned them out & they re-tested them. Caden passed but Kellan & Garren still failed. While removing the wax from their ears the doctor noticed they had really small canals. She said that combined with the wax could be what was causing them to not pass the exam. So the plan it to try to dissolve & eliminate the wax with peroxide, a few drops each day for a week rinsed with water should get it all out & hopefully then they will pass the test. 

Caden

The wax causes the probe to not be able to set in the ear properly & therefore not be able to read the sound waves. Before the boys are referred to an audiologist we want to make sure it's not just a bad test result from excessive wax.

Kellan

Talking about the boys having wax in their ears makes me feel like they sound dirty. They have always had excessively waxy ears. No matter how much we clean them, they always seem to have wax draining from their ears. The boys' pediatrician in NC told me it was normal, some people just have more wax than others & that it was better to have excessive wax than have no wax :)

Garren, over it & ready to go!

So hopefully next week they pass with flying colors & this will be behind us!

Tomorrow we meet with the coordinator from Babies Can't Wait, ie Early Intervention, to set up the boys therapy schedule & get that going. I'm so excited for Caden & Kellan to start communicating better!!! :)

Developmental Evaluation

Last week I received a phone call from Early Intervention wanting to schedule an appointment to do a developmental evaluation on the boys. I was not expecting it. From what I understand they are just covering all areas of development  to be sure there is not an underlying reason or cause (other than prematurity) for the boys speech delay.

So a very nice woman came to the house last week to do the evaluation. The questions were again not what I expected & not the same for each of the boys. I didn't get any kind of indication of how the boys did other than that they did not pass her hearing screen. I have put in a call to the pediatrician to have their hearing checked out. I do not believe there is really an issue. They always respond when we talk to them, look when we say their names & so on but of course we will make sure we are not missing something. Other than that she just told me that I would receive a copy of her report.

I'm still waiting to hear from the speech therapist. I'm a bit anxious to get them started with their therapy. Actually I'm just anxious for them to start communicating better & stop screaming, lol... 

Speech Therapist Evaluation

Yesterday the boys had their evaluation with a speech therapist. The evaluation was much different than I had expected.

The therapist started with asking the boys to identify objects on a page. First my naming an object & asking them to pint to it, then by asking them to name some objects. Garren did fairly well with this, he is our little people pleaser though & was very interested in what she was doing. Caden & Kellan were both very shy & also more interested in the spiral binding that held her book together than what was on the actual page.

Next she pulled out a small teddy bear, a spoon, a plastic cup & a small cloth. She said "the bear is thirsty, can you give the bear a drink?" Then, "the bear is hungry, can you feed the bear?" And lastly, "the bear is sleepy, can you put the bear to bed?" Garren also did well with this task as he plays with stuffed animals usually & prevents to feed them & give them drinks & put them to bed. Kellan & Caden have no interest in stuffed animals so really didn't cooperate with the bear. Caden did offer the therapist her cup when she said the bear was thirsty & Kellan gave himself a bite with the spoon when she said the bear was hungry, lol...

She then had them identify their articles of clothing, shirt, shoes, socks & so on. Thanks to Baby Signing Time they all did well with this exercise. Not only could they identify them they could sign them :)

The last exercise she had them do was with some blocks & boxes. She would ask them to put the block in the box, then to take it out. She lined up 3 blocks, told them which block was theirs & which one was hers & then asked them which block was theirs & then hers? They all did well with the first part of the exercise but not the last part.

After she finished her exercises she asked me some questions pertaining to their speech. She asked if they ask questions, Garren is the only one that does & its only a couple, "where's the kitty cat?" & "what's that?" She asked if they use nouns & adjectives together, since they don't string words together for the most part the answer was no. Lastly she asked if they claim possession, using words like me, mine, yours. They do not. 

Scores over 85 are considered to be in the normal range. Garren scored right at 85 & therefore does not qualify for therapy. Caden & Kellan scored in the high 70's, 76 & 78 I think, so they will be receiving speech therapy.

I felt like a bad mom in some ways, like I should have taught them the things they missed. I know it is not my fault & really, I'm not beating myself up over it. I just think it's probably normal to blame yourself as a mother when your kids aren't doing something they should be. We really cannot complain though, aside from the flat spots on their heads, this is the first issue any of them have had & considering their prematurity I'd say we are pretty lucky.

Initial Evaluation

Someone from Early Intervention or Babies Can't Wait as they call it here came by Monday to do an initial evaluation on the boys for suspected speech delay. She actually evaluated them for all kinds of developmental delays. It was pretty much the same questionnaire we fill out at the doctors office though & the boys scored fine in "communication" & all other areas. Their "communication" skills aren't what we were concerned with it is their actual speech. We were given the option to keep an eye on them ourselves or have another evaluation with an actual speech therapist. We opted for an evaluation with a therapist, if for nothing else to ease our minds & she can give us tips on how to get them to start using words together.

I'm not super worried or overly concerned about this but feel its better to have them evaluated & know for sure before they get to school & have a problem. Actually in the time since the boys' 2 year check-up Garren has started stringing words & talking in sentences. It surprises me when he does it because he's saying so much at once. He has also turned into that little character Stewie saying "Mom... Mum... Mom mom!" It's great when he does it while I'm driving & he wants to hand me a piece of lint he found on his carseat, lol.

So Caden & Kellan are probably right behind Garren & by the time the therapist makes her appointment with us we won't really need her & she will laugh at us for even being concerned.