Tuesday morning Truitt had his first Speech Evaluation at the Dublin Children's Close to Home Center. Which is ironically NOT close to our home at all.
The ST that did his evaluation was Heidi, and she was wonderful. Very sweet, and uplifting. She asked me about fifty or so questions about Truitt's receptive and expressive language skills. After we were through with them, she added up his "yes's" and "no's" to get his score.
I'm not sure of the exact score it came to, but he falls into the severely delayed category. To help me better understand his current language abilities, she compared his score with an age chart and he is communicating at a 7 month old level.
She apologized to me for the discouraging news, and I quickly told her I was happy to hear he is even at that level. I didn't expect him to be any higher than a 3 to 4 month old to be quite honest.
The part that did discourage me a whole lot was when she told me she doesn't believe he will ever be able to vocally communicate, at best he may use one word commands. That was a stab at my heart. I know, and have known since his birth, that he probably wouldn't ever talk, but to hear it so matter of fact from a professional is painfully hard to swallow. It's the realization that he may never be able to tell us what he needs, what he wants, or that he loves us.
It was another hard day.
On a happier note, she thought he seemed very intelligent, is extremely aware of his surroundings and very emotionally connected to those who love him. That warmed my heart right back up. I know he understands more than he can express, and I hope one day he will use that as a fighting force to communicate way better than the say he ever will. I know there are communication devices, which he will learn to use during his weekly Speech Therapy, but I want him to have a voice. To be able to talk.
It only makes me want to fight even harder for him to say one simple word. I want him to prove them wrong.
4 comments:
if anyone is a fighter - it is truitt - and we all know that [you and greg more than anyone!] hang in there lauren, i know that it has to be tough - but you have one of the most happiest content kids ever and you are so fortunate for that! give him a hug for me :)
Greg and Lauren, Remember that loving words are not only spoken but more importantly they are felt in our hearts. This little boy shows more love with his smile than any words could say. He just melts our hearts. Truitt has already shown us MIRACLES and there are many more to come.
Love to you all,
~Mom
PS-We need to see more pictures!!!! I love PICTURES!!!
~MOM
remember, take the therapist advise "in stride" and don't bank on it! Truitt will be a product of your efforts. If you work hard with him on talking he will command from inside the strength to talk!
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