Update on Casen

Casen's first speech therapy session was on February 13th.  I mentioned in this post that I was both excited and nervous. I was worried I would leave feeling discouraged and guess what... I did.

I called my mom afterwards feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. I want to share with you what they did both to document it for our family but also in case someone I know goes through this at some point.

We sat in a little room just like last time with just us and the therapist.  A parent or other adult is required to attend each session and participate as needed.  The therapist, Lori started with a toy like this. The should make his lid open and repeat 'POP' each time.  Then she would close them and say 'bye-bye'. 

from Walmart

 

Then we played with blocks and balls where she repeated their names a lot and just handed them back and forth. And finally we played with a magnadoodle saying 'dot, dot, dot' and they made circles.

 

If you notice she concentrated on the consonant sounds 'B' and 'D' to see if he would repeat.  He didn't repeat any of the sounds.  She observed that he doesn't babble or make sounds while he plays.  He also has his mouth open with tongue at the front and drools a lot as a he plays (we knew this and discussed it at our assessment).

 

She explained that 'our homework' was to 'wake up' him mouth.  She showed us how to associate an action with a consonant sound. An example is 'mmmm' while rubbing your pointer finger across your lips. Another one was patting your mouth like an indian while saying the B sound. We were also instructed to do two different mouth exercises, make funny faces in the mirror, encourage babbling with repetition and some other things. We also have to encourage him to close his mouth or 'hide your tongue.'

 

One of the last things she said to me was 'the most important thing is homework.  I only get 30 minutes a week with him and it will consist mainly play observation and showing you knew things to do with him.'  That is when it hit me with no denying it.  This was something I was going to have to do. It wasn't just 30 minute sessions of magic.  We really did have homework and this really is a commitment to help him. In the moment I was selfish and thought 'oh great! Just one more thing to add to my never-ending list.' But after talking to my mom she reminded me that less than 6 months ago we thought we were facing something much scarier and harder. Things could be some much worse.  This is temporary.

 

I think something else that scared me is she made a reference to doing something else when he is older.  In my head this was going to last 6 months not years. But I have to remind myself that even if it is years it will be worth it.  I will do anything for this amazing little boy. Because that's my job.

 

The next week we didn't have an appointment because she was out for a conference.  Then last week the bad weather caused them to cancel our appointment.  So this afternoon is only our second appointment. This time my attitude is completely different.  I am so excited to go to the appointment and show her our improvements.

 

Over the last 3 weeks I have seen so many changes in Casen.  He still drools and we aren't great about reminding him but I have noticed him close his mouth more and something wipe his mouth so he is aware of the drool.  He babbles the B, D, and M sound.  He says momma more (still not a ton) and he says what sounds like more and mine (maybe not a good thing). Yesterday he said 'dadda' multiple times.  Sometimes it is just the first D as he points to Kyle or Kyle's picture but he knows what he is saying.  Yesterday we made popcorn and he keeps saying 'pa, pa, pa' like he was making the popping sound. I have heard him make a rumbling sound as he plays with cars and trucks. 

 

We have a long way to go, but I feel like God heard my needs.  He knew I needed the reassurance that we are doing our best for Casen.  I know I just need to trust God and have patience which is often easier said than done.  I can't wait to get my next homework assignment today...but I still hope it is easy : )