10.03.2011

Simon's speech and hips

A little recap:

Simon's speech is not where it should be for an almost 3 year old. Back in late December/early January, we took him to a walk-in First Words clinic and Simon was quickly assessed and we were given speech therapy forms to fill out which we sent in to the children's hospital. 9 months later - last Friday - we had our first appointment at the hospital for Simon's speech.

The appointment lasted a couple hours and Simon was seen by a few people:  a speech/language pathologist, an occupational therapist and a social worker. Simon is a bit behind in a few areas like social development and go figure, speech. In the last couple minutes of the appointment, we realized that they all had the wrong birthdate for Simon. They thought he was 3.5 years old (bday in May). His correct birthday is November 5th. Turns out they should have used different questionnaires, etc. so they are going to go back over all the info they took down and if their results are drastically different, they'll call us with an update.

They profusely apologized but I couldn't help but feel frustrated because we waited 9 months for that appointment. Despite the screw-up, it was a very enlightening appointment and we learned alot. We were given different tips on how to encourage Simon to speak, potty training tips (we haven't started yet), teeth brushing tips (he DESPISES teeth brushing), etc. There are some playgroups that we need to take Simon too. At these groups there is always an early childhood consultant and a communicative disorders assistant. They also rotate between having the following people present: speech-language pathologist, behaviour consultant, occupational therapist and a dietician. In six weeks, specialists will start coming to the house to check Simon out too.

At the speech appointment, everyone seemed to note the abnormal way Simon walks. Which brings me to the second topic of this post which is Simon's hips. Months ago, we took Simon to the doctor to discuss the way he walked - toes pointed outwards. It took months but this morning was the appointment at the children's hospital to get his hips checked out. Turns out that his femur is turned out a bit which makes him walk with his toes pointed out. There is nothing we can do to fix it but it should fix itself over time. Hopefully. If there is no improvement in the next year or two, we are to take him back to the hospital to be checked out again.

Coincidence or what but Simon has been talking non-stop since Friday and I FREAKING LOVE IT. :)

12 comments:

  1. so glad to hear that you've finally got into your appointments with simon - even though they still stuffed up! pffft!
    simon is one lucky boy - he has a great mum and family - that makes all the difference in the world.
    xox.

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  2. Fantastic to hear that the help you need is on the way. By the way with regard to Simons hips, has anyone suggested a chiropractor? This is exactly the kind of thing they deal with. They are very gentle and with time amazing changes can be made. They are very holistic these days and will also take his speech issues into consideration and may indeed help in that area too. I've had my hips straightened out by a chiro and my daughter who could never walk any distance without painful legs can now walk all day without complaint.

    Good luck x

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  3. Thanks Cheryl! We're so happy to get the ball rolling although Simon's been doing a pretty good job recently improving his speech (for exapmple, he can say 'downstairs' so clearly!)

    Emma - I don't recall anyone suggesting a chiropractor. I'll have to mention that to our family doctor next time we see her and get her opinion on it. If you don't mind me asking, why did your daughter's legs hurt?

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  4. This sounds like my luck! I always try to wait out sicknesses, and such, but the moment I call the dr, the little one is feeling better.

    I'm glad Simon is showing signs of improvement. One less thing for you to worry about!

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  5. My 2.5 yr old son has very similar speech & development issues as Simon, and he's been in what sounds like a very similar program for about 9 months now. It's been amazing -- he gains words weekly, is better about trying to communicate with us before he tantrums in frustration, is slowly getting more social with kids his own age, and really is just thriving in the environment. I really hope the things being set up for Simon do the same magic they've done here for our Kiedis.

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  6. Simon is improving daily. He's really good at saying big words now like peanut butter, lawnmower, downstairs, cheeseburger, toothbrush...

    Tabatha - I hope things with Simon keep improving like they have been. He's so much happier when he can communicate with words and we actually understand him. Far less frustration tantrums lately too. Your son sounds like he's really on his way too! Congrats!

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  7. It's amazing how quickly things change, isn't it? All those new words. I think you'll be even more pleased once he starts in the program. He'll probably just love it and it sounds like he's like Gabe--lots of behavior stuff went away when we started understanding him.

    I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I don't know how this happens. I suppose when Joe's 80 hour weeks at work turn into All Mommy All the Time at home. ;-) I'll do better though. Promise.

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  8. Again, you had me a bit worried. Was thinking about you just today actually hoping everything was alright. Glad to hear it pretty much is! Tell Joe not to work so damn much. Holy crap!

    Simon's changes are daily. He's becoming this little man who is so smart and so funny and just amazing. I'm so damn proud of him and all the progress he's making - and there hasn't even been any actually therapy yet!

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  9. Isn't that a big relief??? That's how I felt.

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  11. Children who stammer, have trouble pronouncing words, have issues with pitch, volume, or quality of speech, or who have trouble understanding words and their meaning are all treated for speech impairments. Some kids struggle to put words together or speak in an inappropriate manner. Others struggle with focus and memory issues. Some kids have issues chewing, swallowing, coughing, and accepting food. A youngster who has had speech difficulty due to an illness or injury may also require speech therapy. There are numerous causes for a youngster to require speech therapy. Continuous or intensive speech therapy sessions may be advantageous for your child if you find that they are falling behind their peers or the expected developmental milestones for their age.

    smithfield speech therapy

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