Monday, August 6, 2012

Back in the summer of 2010...

HokieBoy has been going to speech therapy at the public elementary school for 2 years now. In that time, we've learned a good bit of how speech therapy works. We've learned what to look for, that some skills are just not appropriate for young children, and how to help children make correct sounds. Recently, HokieBoy's therapist indicated that HokieGirl may qualify. I had not been overly concerned, because I felt she was hitting the most of the right sounds for her age. (By the way, she just turned 4, but she looks and acts a little older, like maybe a late 4. It throws people off sometimes.) But, when a speech professional suggests that there may be a problem, well there is certainly no harm in having an evaluation. If there is a problem, therapy through the schools is free, and HokieBoy's therapist is great.

So, today was our opening evaluation. We dropped off the other kids with a friend and headed off just the two of us girls. We walk into the meeting room, and here's where I realized the set up must have felt a little intimidating to my girl. It was a conference room with a long table and 7 adults already seated. I pulled a chair out for her and sat down.

She whispered, "Mama, can I sit in your lap?" Of course! While I'm answering questions I let HokieGirl play with my hands. "Look, Mama! I made your hands into a triangle! Look! Mine is a smaller triangle!" I murmured, "yes!" into her ear and continued answering questions about her birth and baby milestones. "I made your fingers make a diamond! Here's a tinier diamond! And now I'll make the tiniest diamond!"

At this point the speech pathologist pulls out her box of toys and invites HokieGirl over to play, while I continue to answer other questions.

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