My kids are the best things that have ever happened to me, so is my husband. My daughter is bright, quick to pick things up and takes right after me. She loves to help pick up, organize and take care of her little brother.
I noticed a while back that her speech wasn't where it should be. By the age of 3 the babbling should be gone and any given person should be able to understand 75% of what that 3 year old is saying.
I wanted to get information on that program "Parents as Teachers", and when I couldn't get a hold of them I decided to go in a different route. I called child development services so I could have Lexy's hearing and vision checked. They made their home visit today. During this visit, one of many, they do an evaluation and basic testing and paper work. This gives them a chance to see and interact with each other in a comfortable setting. During the evaluation they are looking for many different things. Whether they can run, balance, follow 2 step commands, show emotion, dress/undress themselves, use utensils, recognize people, say names, draw a horizontal or vertical line, draw in a circle motion and make 3-4 word sentences.
During this evaluation the woman giving it was over all impressed with what Lexy could do. She has all the basic skills, and can do some of them above average; such as drawing a complete circle, triangle, vertical or horizontal line, count to 3 and point out her name when she sees it on paper. She can point out shapes and animals and put puzzles together in no time flat and also notice that a book is upside down.
They did confirm what I had known all along, which is that she is behind in her speech. They said "delayed". We were told we should be able to understand 100% of what she is saying to us, and we both agree that we can only understand about 20% of what she says. It sucks to hear because I work with her when she lets me. She would rather draw though than work with me on her speech. They said she has trouble with word association. For example, she loves elephants and can point them out but she calls them oinks. She is not confusing an elephant with a pig, she knows the difference. What I find weird though is that she can say zebra and giraffe perfectly.
Anyways, she has her second evaluation next week. They are going to be checking her ears and vision. But based on what we were told today, Lexy will be starting school soon. If she qualifies, which they said she did, then she will be going to school to work with other kids 3-5 years old in groups of 2-3. I think that overall her going to school would be a good thing. She could get to interact with other kids her age. Get out of the house and have some fun. She is a smart, outgoing little girl and going to school a little early will only put her ahead.
The majority of pre-k and elementary students have to take speech anyways. I just caught it early enough to fix in no time. Pretty soon she will be talking 100 words per minute and it will be awesome!!
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