A Post About Boy

Last summer, at his 2-year well visit, Boy's pediatrician was shocked when I said he maybe knew a dozen words and regularly said maybe 5 of them.  She said he should be closer to 200 words by then!  It's not that Boy didn't talk--he just didn't speak English.  She agree to wait another month or so to see if he caught on but after summer was over, I knew he just wasn't progressing so we initiated a speech therapist to come evaluate him.

Boy's evaluation shocked me a little bit--he actually scored normal in every area, even above normal in some areas, except for his expressive speech.  The lady doing the evaluation thought maybe he was so bright that he figured his language was understood by him and that it was us adults who had the problem for not knowing what he was saying.  His speech therapist later agreed and said that one day it would all just 'click.'  Which is exactly what happened.

We've grown to love our days that the speech therapist comes.  J is Boy's new buddy and he looks forward to having an hour of uninterrupted play time with her.  He now repeats almost everything we say and knows his vowels and consonants very well.  I think once he realized that when he spoke our language, his needs were met much more quickly.  Now he can also count to 10+, knows (and loves) the ABC song, and is constantly pointing out words and pictures and asking, "Wa's that, momma?"

(Boy playing with snow on a warm spring day.  Our weather has been so weird this year...)

It was kind of an assumption on everyone's part that Boy would be going to special-ed preschool this upcoming fall--he scored so low on his expressive speech.  But now it looks like he might not qualify.  I was telling his speech therapist that I consider this a good thing!  We'll know for sure after he is tested closer to his 3rd birthday.  I did learn, however, that this preschool welcomes 'normal' kids as model children for the other kids, we just have to pay for his enrollment.  We are already leaning towards this option because a speech pathologist is involved in this preschool so that, in case he started having further delays, they would notice it right away.  Plus they said there is a bus available to come pick up the kids.  Boy would freak out!  Boy and his buses...

Boy continues to be such a blessing, and a challenge, and a delight, all at once.  He loves riding Bean's old pink tricycle.  He knows all of the princesses' names by heart.  Yet he is such a Boy!  His favorite expressions are 'Right Back' (said while holding one finger up and giving me a stern look) 'Bus..uh-huh,,School' and 'Play...outside?'  He definitely keeps me on my toes, but he has me laughing all of the time.  Sweet, sweet Boy!