Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I always get a little anxious right before Morgan Kate has any evaluation. I also get a little emotional. I really can't explain why. It just happens. I guess it's mostly because, well, she's my baby and I want nothing but the best for her.

This morning we had Morgan Kate's speech evaluation. And as expected, my nerves set in. I called Travis and my mom several times this morning just to talk. To kind of vocalize what I was feeling and to, in some way distract from the fact that we had an evaluation. However, the minute I walked into the therapist's office I was completely calm and felt very comfortable. Maybe it was the fact that we sat on the floor. Maybe it was the fact at there were toys everywhere. Maybe it was because MK was smiling. Maybe it was because our therapist whom we will call "L" was so, so, so very nice and said that MK was the cutest thing ever. Or maybe it was even the two big dogs that were lying on pillows in the front office. I just felt really good about where we were.

Morgan Kate did end up qualifying for speech therapy (ST). And she will receive services twice a week. She will have two different therapists who work very closely together - so we have "L" and "W". Of course we will work on "speaking", but more importantly we will work on pre-verbal skills and our therapists will work with MK on using a cup. Pre-verbal skills are those skills that you have to have or need before you actually start talking. The therapists have so many ideas and thoughts about cups and what to use and what not to use. They even showed me some different cups today that make so much more sense than a sippy cup. And we will also work on signing so that MK will be able to tell me what she wants or how she is feeling before she can actually say the words. She and I have been working on the sign for "more" for a while now and we will continue to work on that during ST.

I may have been anxious and apprehensive this morning, but I feel so much better this afternoon. I'm excited actually and can't wait for our first official appointment next week. I think this is going to be great for Morgan Kate. And for me.

5 comments:

The Fricks said...

Ohh fun!! Signing!! Josie had lots of signs down and it really helped with Wes cause he picked up on them extremely quickly. And he's much slower at talking than Josie was, so the signs are really helping him communicate.

And I'm glad you felt at east once you got in the therapist's office. That makes a world of difference with anyone working with your child!

Good luck Morgan Kate!

Elizabeth Graham said...

Signing was a lifesaver with us with Noah. He wasnt very verbal, though we tried and tried to get him to speak. He just knew a handful but it made life so much easier. He would literally fall out on the floor with frustration because we couldnt figure out what he wanted. Hope ST goes well for Miss MK!

Id be interested in hearing about the cups they didnt recommend and the ones that were better than sippys. I recently heard that some sippys can cause speech delays. ?!

Ashleigh Turner said...

Yay!!! Sooo happy to hear it went well...and to hear they are going to introduce signs and had the "sippy talk". :) Just sent you a FB message.

The mom of 4 monkeys! said...

Speech therapy will be a lot of fun for MK! Yes, it's to learn things but those wonderful therapists make it so much fun the little ones don't even realize it's "work".
I wanted more to comment on the signing... My sister is deaf so I have taught all of my children so far to sign and they have all signed before they could even talk. It is such a wonderful language for you and them! Something I have always loved is the "Signing Time" videos. They are fun to watch and teach the kids so many signs (Mommy and Daddy too!).
Just wanted to share that with you...

Emily said...

I'd love to hear what types of cups they recommended. Our pediatrician mentioned getting Ellie a cup in the next couple of months and just putting water in it for her to have it around and get used to the concept.