As I've posted before, Ben has been doing very well with Speech. He's been in Speech Therapy for about 4 months now (once per week). When he first started, he had about 5 words...although he had stopped using them. Now, it's a completely different story. I'd guess he has 40 words. Maybe more. He doesn't form any 2-word sentences yet but he's very verbal.
He had Speech Therapy this morning and she's so happy with him, she doesn't want to see him for SIX MONTHS! I was thrilled. I knew she was going to cut back how often she saw him, but I had no idea that we'd get 6 whole months off. Granted, she wants to see him if he's not forming 2-word sentences by November. But I'm sure he will.
So basically, I have 52 hours per year to fill up. I'm not quite sure what to do with it.
Showing posts with label Speech Therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speech Therapy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Amazing Ben
After boring you (I'm sure) in my last post about my weight loss, here's a quick update on Ben and his speech progress.
We've been going to weekly speech appointments since late April / early May. I was concerned because he wasn't talking at all. In early April, he probably had about 5 words. By the end of the month, he wasn't using any and really wasn't repeating much either. I thought maybe it was due to the fact that he was working so hard on gross motor stuff, but wanted to be sure. Plus, he has enough challenges, I didn't want speech to be one of them if it didn't have to be.
So off we went to the speech pathologist, who let me just say is awesome. At first, he hardly said anything or even made sounds. Then he started to copy the signs she was making and then the words just took off.
As I stated a few posts ago, he has somewhere around 25 words now...it may even be closer to 30 or 35 by now.
He did great at his speech appointment this morning. Said lots of words on his own and repeated tons. And he even had one two-word sentence, "bye duck". I was thrilled. And so was the speech pathologist. She's off on vacation for a few weeks so we have a few weeks off. Then she's going to decide how often he needs to come in. Probably nowhere near once a week. YEAH for fewer appointments!
I have to brag about just one more thing. Sorry, I'm a mommy and I just can't help it! Ben was playing with this ball and hammer toy. There are 4 balls (red, blue, yellow and green) and they each go on top in their own "hole". Each hole is coloured to match. After hammering the balls through the toy, he would then place the balls back up in their "holes". Well, he totally amazed me by always correcting himself. He'd place the balls in the holes randomly and then he'd proceed to fix them so that each ball was in the correct coloured hole. It was awesome to watch!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
All about Ben
I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about tonight. But I think it's time to tell you more about Ben's diagnosis. Ben has Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. He was diagnosed by a Pediatric Neurologist in September 2008...just a week after his first birthday. We really had no idea. We knew he had developmental delays but we really had no idea that it was any more than that. So, let me try to explain what this diagnosis means.
Ben's case is on the milder side of the spectrum. There is a classification system that classifies children affected by CP based on their gross motor skills (sitting, walking, and wheeled-mobility). You can see it here. Currently, both of Ben's PTs consider Ben to be a Level 2. This would indicate that Ben will someday be able to walk indoors unaided and walk outdoors with the use of a walker. This however is some time away but hopefully before he starts school.
Some more specifics about Ben:
1. We're not sure if the CP has affected his speech. He is somewhat delayed but not enough to cause any real concern at this point. He babbles constantly and can say some words (about 4) in the right context.
2. We don't think that the CP has affected his cognitive abilities. I am not sure but have heard that this will be assessed when he's around 3 years of age. Currently, his PT's think he's very bright.
3. His fine motor skills are really great at this stage. He saw an OT once a week for about 6 months. We only see her once a month now.
4. The spasticity in his legs seems to mostly affect his hamstrings and calves. His adductors are not as affected (the muscles on the inside of the thighs). Usually with Spastic Diplegia the adductors are affected which causes scissoring of the legs when walking or crawling. Ben had a bit of tightness in his adductors during a recent growth spurt but lately that tightness has lessened.
When Ben was diagnosed in September (7 months ago), he could roll from his tummy to back and back to tummy. He could roll both left and right. He was not comfortable hanging out on his tummy. He could not crawl in any form. He could not sit unassisted. He could not pull up. Just 7 months later, Ben can sit unassisted (although he still has some balance problems so we don't leave him unattended when sitting). He can army-crawl. He can get up on all fours. He can pull to a kneel. He can hang out on his knees. He loves to be on his tummy. He can use a walker with help. He can go up and down the 2 steps into our family room. HE IS AWESOME! What progress he has made! He is a very hard worker and gets such pleasure out of doing things himself! He amazes me every single day.
Cerebral Palsy ("CP") in the most basic terms means that there has been an injury to the brain (cerebral) that has caused the person to not be able to use their muscles in the normal way (palsy). CP is not progressive. It is not communicable. It is not curable. It is (somewhat) treatable.
There are 3 main types of CP:
1. Spastic
2. Athetoid
3. Ataxic
A person can also have a mix of these 3 types.
Spastic CP is the most common type (about 80% of CP cases are spastic). It basically means that the person has one or more tight muscles groups that limit their movements.
Diplegia is a type of CP that affects mostly the legs, but can affect the trunk and arms to a lesser extent.
Ben's case is on the milder side of the spectrum. There is a classification system that classifies children affected by CP based on their gross motor skills (sitting, walking, and wheeled-mobility). You can see it here. Currently, both of Ben's PTs consider Ben to be a Level 2. This would indicate that Ben will someday be able to walk indoors unaided and walk outdoors with the use of a walker. This however is some time away but hopefully before he starts school.
Some more specifics about Ben:
1. We're not sure if the CP has affected his speech. He is somewhat delayed but not enough to cause any real concern at this point. He babbles constantly and can say some words (about 4) in the right context.
2. We don't think that the CP has affected his cognitive abilities. I am not sure but have heard that this will be assessed when he's around 3 years of age. Currently, his PT's think he's very bright.
3. His fine motor skills are really great at this stage. He saw an OT once a week for about 6 months. We only see her once a month now.
4. The spasticity in his legs seems to mostly affect his hamstrings and calves. His adductors are not as affected (the muscles on the inside of the thighs). Usually with Spastic Diplegia the adductors are affected which causes scissoring of the legs when walking or crawling. Ben had a bit of tightness in his adductors during a recent growth spurt but lately that tightness has lessened.
When Ben was diagnosed in September (7 months ago), he could roll from his tummy to back and back to tummy. He could roll both left and right. He was not comfortable hanging out on his tummy. He could not crawl in any form. He could not sit unassisted. He could not pull up. Just 7 months later, Ben can sit unassisted (although he still has some balance problems so we don't leave him unattended when sitting). He can army-crawl. He can get up on all fours. He can pull to a kneel. He can hang out on his knees. He loves to be on his tummy. He can use a walker with help. He can go up and down the 2 steps into our family room. HE IS AWESOME! What progress he has made! He is a very hard worker and gets such pleasure out of doing things himself! He amazes me every single day.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
WordFUL Wednesday
Sorry. I'm breaking the rules. I already declared it Wordless Wednesday and here I am writing a post. But I have good reason. After just posting 2 days ago about Ben "losing" words and starting Speech Therapy, he decided today that he'd like to talk. He said "tractor", "Uh-oh", and "car" many, many times today. He just kept saying them over and over (mostly in context). It was amazing!
In related news, Ben has also decided that he now likes apples, cheese and raisins. Last week, he wouldn't touch any of these items with a 10-foot pole, but now he can't get enough of them.
Life is good.
In related news, Ben has also decided that he now likes apples, cheese and raisins. Last week, he wouldn't touch any of these items with a 10-foot pole, but now he can't get enough of them.
Life is good.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Always something to worry about
Lately I've been worried about Ben's speech. We've known for awhile that both Ben and Daniel are somewhat delayed in their speech but really weren't too concerned. They've been delayed in everything else so why not speech too?
That said, Ben is starting to concern me. About 6 weeks ago, they were both actively repeating words and each had 3 or 4 words. Daniel now has about 6 and uses 3 all the time without any prompting. Ben however has pretty much stopped repeating and rarely uses any words. He does babble constantly though.
At first I didn't really notice that he was using his words as much. That's how it is with twins sometimes. Daniel was using them so I didn't realize that Ben wasn't.
So I took Ben into see the Speech Pathologist that he's seen in the past. I don't think she's overly concerned but does want to see him weekly. Ben has been making huge improvements in his gross motor skills lately so likely that explains some of his speech "regression".
But some good news...we went out for a walk this afternoon. And Ben said "car" about 5 times without prompting. Yippee! Daniel points out just about every car that drives by and finally Ben picked up on it. It's so great to have Daniel to motivate Ben....one of the perks of having twins.
That said, Ben is starting to concern me. About 6 weeks ago, they were both actively repeating words and each had 3 or 4 words. Daniel now has about 6 and uses 3 all the time without any prompting. Ben however has pretty much stopped repeating and rarely uses any words. He does babble constantly though.
At first I didn't really notice that he was using his words as much. That's how it is with twins sometimes. Daniel was using them so I didn't realize that Ben wasn't.
So I took Ben into see the Speech Pathologist that he's seen in the past. I don't think she's overly concerned but does want to see him weekly. Ben has been making huge improvements in his gross motor skills lately so likely that explains some of his speech "regression".
But some good news...we went out for a walk this afternoon. And Ben said "car" about 5 times without prompting. Yippee! Daniel points out just about every car that drives by and finally Ben picked up on it. It's so great to have Daniel to motivate Ben....one of the perks of having twins.
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