A year behind

We went for a one-hour observation and assessment session with a speech therapist at Dynamics OTC on Saturday afternoon.

It was confirmed that Trin is about a year delayed in expressive speech.

The therapist thinks Trin has no problem with receptive speech but says her articulation and lack of vocab, slowness to string 2-word and 3-word sentences does show a lag of about a year. According to the speech development guidelines someone of Trin's age should have a vocab of at least 250 words. KH and I looked at each other a bit comically then - Trin's vocab was nowhere near that range! Maybe about 100 words if I am being really really optimistic - but nowhere near the 250 mark!

The therapist ruled out apraxia (she had good muscle tone near the mouth, no slackness and drooling) and ruled out autism immediately (her eye contact and social skills were very good). Given my experience with autism, that was never one of my concerns. Her gross motor and fine motor skills were also not in question.

Still, at least now I know for sure: she is a year behind.

I also know that early intervention is best. But at charges of $160 per hour, and with say, an hour a week, this was going to add up quite considerably. At this point, it would be quite a stretch for us to afford this.

So the alternative is to pump up her vocab at home - we have to be diligent about getting her say things, naming objects, using verbs and getting her to use verbs.

I think Trin is slowly catching up. This morning Mum and Dad praised her for howling "I want to go!" last night when they left my place. So we all have a part to play at home. All of us - Lolita, KH and I, the children, Mum and Dad - we'll just flood her with words and get her say all of them. And keep at it until we build her vocab. We will be her speech therapists. Meanwhile, I will still go on the polyclinic-KKH referral route - (1) leave a paper trail and (2) therapy will be a lot cheaper if and when we finally get it.

And I guess this also answers my question about part-time vs full-time work doesn't it? I'll have to be a lot more hardworking as a mum though, spending more time with her and engaging her more often. There will be more floor work, more puzzle work, more excursions alone with her. I don't deny there is a fair amount of guilt where Trin is concerned, for me. Different babies have different amounts of chemistry with me and for Trin, maybe it was harder to live up to the form set by her sunnier, brighter-spirit of a fishball brother. I have been guilty of the "leave it to Lolita" syndrome for too long. I won't make sweeping promises I can't keep, but you will see me more often with Trin from now on.