Speech, Learning, and Growth - Part 1

Emily has made some wonderful progress with her speech lately. Coming home in the car today she was saying some wonderful sentences. Finally at one point she couldn’t come up with the words to say what she was thinking, got frustrated and says, “I need help with an idea.” She also told me she wanted to go to the park, but I had to explain that Meredith didn’t have a sweater. So she says, “Mom, you say, ‘We’re going to the park after we get Meredith’s sweater.’” It thrills me. It thrills me more to know exactly what kind of progress that really is, what kind of thinking goes into saying something like that. It makes me realize, or at least begin to realize, how much I take for granted.

We’ve changed what we’ve been doing around here. It’s finally occurred to me after our last speech evaluation a few weeks ago that what we’re doing isn’t working. Very sad it’s taken me that long. Sure, what we’ve been doing has been helping, probably, possibly; but we just haven’t been making the strides in speech that I want to see.

So, with prayer, studying, and the Lord’s inspiration (hopefully) I’ve been trying to do whatever I thought would help. I’ve been teaching her how to read. It sounds crazy, I know. Why would you teach a 4-year-old to read? That is a little young. But as she reads the words they are so much clearer. We’re working even further on making sure everyone can hear those sounds. We’re learning comprehension. She’s made wonderful strides in comprehending what she is reading.

I’ve also been reading a lot more to the girls. But not just any books, the best books I can find. Not all books are created equally. I’ve also been asking questions, talking more about the pictures in the books, and discussing the books. We also recite scriptures. Having Emily recite the 1st Article of Faith to me has been thrilling. Seeing the 2-year-old keeping up and insisting upon her turn has brought many smiles to my face. Emily has gained a lot of clarity in her speech through working on reciting scriptures and we will continue to add scriptures to our repertoire. There are other things that we’ve added to our routine. Some that seem to be less speech related and some very speech related. I found a free math curriculum online. It asks questions like: Which one is wider? Which one is taller? Who is sitting beside Tom? Etc. It makes me realize how much even a subject like math is very speech related.

I quite honestly believe that we’ve been going through this for a reason. It pales in comparison to some of the trials in life that I know others go through, but it’s been no cakewalk either. Both of the girls are benefiting from what I have been learning. I think that this new child to our family will be an even greater beneficiary. I also hope that there may be people I come in contact with that will benefit. One day, this won’t be our problem anymore. I feel more hopeful now than ever. This has been a wonderful learning period for me and our family.

Part 2 - What I Wish I Would Have Known