When Something Isn't Quite Right

I feel like I've shared this on here before but I can't find the post, so maybe I didn't.  I know I've wanted to and thought about it many times.

It's not a big secret that my 5 year old son was in speech therapy this past school year.  This was a brand new experience for me as a parent.  I had no idea what to expect and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

My son LOVED his speech teacher and going to speech.  It was never a struggle or an issue, thank goodness!

A year ago, according to his testing, he was at about 40% understandability.  His goal for the end of this year was to reach 65%.  When I met with his speech teacher and 4K teacher for his end of the year IEP (individualized education plan), he was at 80% understandability.

I have definitely noticed a big difference in his talking and I can understand him almost 100% of the time.  Life is so much less frustrating for him and me!

He still has a ways to go and will continue with speech therapy as he enters kindergarten this fall but he is doing so much better than he was.

I am so grateful for the fact that a family friend first alerted  me to his speech problem (I didn't even realize at first) and that I looked into it.  It is so easy to just say, Oh, he's fine.  He'll grow out of it.  There's nothing wrong with MY son.

I have to admit that that was my very first initial thought.  I am so glad I didn't let my pride get in the way of getting my son the help he truly needed.

I talked with his pediatrician who really didn't see the problem but it still nagged at me.  I then talked with his preschool teacher and she started the process of getting him tested.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would but overall it was pretty painless.

A little over a year after I discovered there was a problem, he finally was getting the help he needed.  I am so glad that I didn't put it off any longer.

Last night I read this post over at the Little Miss Momma  blog and it reminded me about sharing this with you all.  I love how honest and real and right on she was in this post about her son.

I also realized that there may be other moms out there dealing with this and possibly not even knowing it.  If you feel like something might not be quite right (developmentally, behaviorally, etc) with one of your kiddos or someone you know alerts you to a possible problem, get it checked out.  A lot of times, it will just be kids being kids.  Sometimes it's not, though.  There are so many programs and different kinds of therapists out there.

Waukesha county has a birth to three program that is free to all eligible children.  http://www.waukeshacounty.gov/defaultwc.aspx?id=38694

Since my son was older than 3 when we discovered his speech problem, we have dealt with the school district of Waukesha.  http://dnnlive.waukesha.k12.wi.us/District/SpecialEdServices/ProgramsServices.aspx

Don't be afraid to look into any kind of worries you may have about your kids.  

If there truly is a problem, you will be SO glad that you addressed it earlier rather than later.  

There is so much help available, take advantage of it if you need it. 

Your child is worth it and you'll be surprised at how much less frustrating life will become for both of you!