"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

Friday, June 18, 2010

Words Unspoken

We knew it all along. We KNEW he understood... more.



Today I found out the results of BigBoy's speech evaluations.
One year ago they put his verbal abilities at an 18 month old's level.
Today I was informed that his receptive and expressive language (what he understands and what he can say, respectively) is in the above average range for his age. He scored a 114 out of 115. Apparently it's all there, it's just not all coming out his mouth.
They even said he has a "large" vocabulary. ?? :) :) !!



BigBoy can identify objects/actions when prompted, but you can't really understand him all the time.
His problem is mostly with forming the sounds that make words. These struggles with speech are keeping a lot of what he has to say stuck in his head.
Even still, he talks much, much more these days.
There's still a lot he's not saying, though.



They also noted that he has a level of self-confidence not usually seen in children with this kind of verbal delay. Those of you who know him personally know that BigBoy has NEVER had a problem with who he is or what he wants in life. Other people not understanding him has never been what he considered "just cause" for change -- in any aspect of life.




The recommendation was two 30-minute sessions a week of speech therapy focusing on verbal motor abilities, to start this Fall when the traditional school year begins (it takes place at an elementary school).



BigBoy was telling me he loved me as I snapped the above photo. Now that you know this, can't you see the tenderness and purity of emotion in his face?

My son hasn't always been able to talk, but he's never had a problem speaking with his heart.

5 comments:

Kelly said...

I love this post and all the pictures that go with it. Your love for your children really shows through in every blog you write about them. I hope that one day I can be as great of a mom as you obviously are.

P.S.--congratulations to Jake on his wonderful score!! I know you and Jonathan are so happy and relieved.

Cayce said...

Aw, thanks Kelly. I try to appreciate them for the blessings they are. Of course my little blessings sometimes drive me batty, like this morning when we couldn't get out the door without me yelling at BigBoy to leave the Star Wars legos at home! I had told him no less than 5 times that we weren't taking a flimsy felt easter pail thing full of 300 tiny lego parts to camp/preschool. The boy's head is made of granite. Oh and this "good mom" never even put his speech eval meeting on the calendar, so I got all those results via conference call when they called to see where I was. Greeeaat, Cayce. I was mortified.

Alesia said...

Great pics....love the last one...SO proud of his scores. He will do great!!

Rachel said...

Love the photos of sweet Jakie. And love the post from his sweet mommy! :-))

Amber Lee said...

That's awesome, Cayce! Not surprising though ;)
Your evaluations are done so differently than ours though... we didn't get any of that type of information, or any scores. Just a basic, yes or no. I wish we could get more telling/specific information like that... seems MUCH more helpful.

Great pics too :)