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My son, Bear, is a chatterbox. No, really. He talks incessantly, and he regales his sister, Beauty, with endless stories, “recipes” from their kitchen, “child care” tips for their baby dolls and stuffed animals—you name it. He’s just a natural born talker (some may argue that’s a trait he’s taken from my dad’s side of the family!), highly communicative by nature. No matter what you want to call it, he’s been blessed with the gift of gab.
Beauty, on the other hand, is a bit behind in her speech. When she arrived home at nine months of age, she endlessly babbled on and on—we were certain she wouldn’t be earmarked as a child with developmental delays. We were wrong.
I’ll admit it—I was worried. I want so much for Beauty to have every possible opportunity, and I want her to be able express her needs and wants with ease. That said, several months back, we started a once-a-week program with a speech therapist, and let me tell you—it’s been a huge change.
M. comes to our house once a week and stays for about an hour. He is wonderful—he engages Beauty in a way where she remains (mostly) focused and wants to succeed with the information she is receiving. While a lot of what she says would still be a bit difficult for others to determine, I have a pretty strong handle on what words are supposed to mean, even if they don’t necessarily sound as they should. One thing I noticed almost immediately upon starting speech therapy was the huge decrease in tantrums. Beauty’s ability to express herself a bit more led her to become a bit more at ease in situations where communication is necessary (i.e., with choices: “what would you like to drink, juice or milk?” and “do you want peas or corn?”, etc.). While some of her answers still take a bit of deciphering, her happiness quotient has increased tenfold. Ours has as well—it’s so much easier (as a parent) to see your daughter able to communicate some of her thoughts via speech.
One of the focuses of our class on international adoption (before Beauty came home) dealt with teaching your baby to sign first to help with the language barrier. We did a bit of signing with Bear, and I was excited to try it again, but Beauty seemingly wanted no part. We consulted her pediatrician for tips to engage her; I searched around the web for hours, and ultimately found nothing that would “hook” her in. However, a few sessions with M. and she is focused on learning and ready to show off her new words. I think that, like most things in parenting, it was a matter of trial and error. Speech therapy is a great fit for Beauty. She is more independent and that’s a good thing for both of us (even if she will always be my baby girl!). I’m eager to see where she’ll be in another six months. Any other adoptive parents out there have a child with a speech delay? If so, did your child partake in speech therapy? How long was he/she involved in therapy? Additional thoughts? I’d love to hear them!
