What we have here is a failure to communicate..

Every once in awhile, when you have a toddler {or kid of any age for that matter} there are days that test you. From the moment the munchkin wakes up, right until you take that first sip of wine in peace after he's gone to sleep. No matter how much you love your child, there are days like these. Recently, we've had a few more of these days than usually, because, frankly, lil Gbear is down right frustrated. Why? He's frustrated because he has a speech delay. He is a super intelligent little boy, who knows what he wants and gets very upset when momma can't understand his gestures.

Around the time we were moving, I started to think, Gee, Gbear really isn't talking, but I chalked it up to me being paranoid mom and decided to just give it more time. In this internet driven day, it's very easy to find yourself comparing your child to hundreds of other kids expecting them to grow in the same way, but let's face it, they don't!  Fast forward a couple months and the pediatrician remarks that it's kind of unusual to have a child older than 18 months that doesn't at least have a few words in his vocabulary. She recommended that we look into the Early On program and at least get him evaluated. I figured, maybe I'm just overreacting, but I'd rather take the time to find out early then let this drag out and beat myself up about not taking it seriously.

Something the lady who was my initial contact with the program said really stuck with me, "Don't worry, but don't wait" I was encouraged that they didn't think I was some crazed over protective mom who spends far too much time consulting Dr. Google. A simple evaluation {which was free} could tell me if I was being paranoid or if my instinctual worry was legitimate. Did I mention it was free? How could I not. In less than a week, we had set up the initial appointment followed by the evaluation. My gut was right, Gbear does have a slight delay. Sometimes I hate to acknowledge it, because people can be so judgmental and it labels my son as different, but it's difficult to ignore when kids half his size bully him because he can't talk. He is just as intelligent as any other child, he just needs a little help setting those words free.

Gbear has been going once a week to speech classes, which in a lot of ways for a kid his age is structured play time, but with a purpose. I have been learning ways to reinforce what he learns in classes in our daily life. While he still hasn't gotten over the hump and started talking, I have noticed a definite difference in our ability to communicate as a whole. One of these days I'm sure I'll be talking about how I can't get him to be quiet! I can be sure of one thing, while Gbear may not be able to say "Momma, I love you" yet, he has his own way of letting me know he loves me even if he has a temper tantrum first ;-)