I believe that every person has something that is "wrong" with them. For some, it is more obvious (such as my amputation). Others are able to disguise their imperfections and keep them private. Robby, unfortunately, has problems hearing.
We are in the process of sorting out his precise hearing issues, but we have some concrete information. He doesn't hear well out of his right ear, so he has a difficult time with sound localization. Although I find his voice adorable, I realize that he has some significant speech issues.
I'm lucky that my friend Vicki is a speech therapist. She has been working with Robby since the summer and we have been making progress. Perhaps because I know that kindergarten is looming (incidentally it is referred to as "the 'k' word" in my house) I have been feeling increased pressure to refine his speech.
Robby becomes so frustrated when he is not understood. I am able to decipher his speech and have become so accustomed to the sounds that he substitutes that I sometimes forget that his patterns are not normal. I don't want him to become the subject of taunts and jokes because of his hearing and speech problems. (I worry that I'll whip my leg off and hit somebody over the head with it if they make fun of him.)
I feel guilty for becoming lax with his speech therapy. Although we haven't stopped working with him, it has lost the sense of urgency and priority that working with him deserves. Somehow life got in the way. I know that guilt is part of being a mother, but I've got a severe case right now!
I am redoubling my efforts to refine Robby's speech. Vicki gave us some picture books to use with him to help isolate sounds, and we're already hearing improvement. After working for a few days, Robby looked at me and said, "Momom, you are t.. t.. t... terrific!"
We are in the process of sorting out his precise hearing issues, but we have some concrete information. He doesn't hear well out of his right ear, so he has a difficult time with sound localization. Although I find his voice adorable, I realize that he has some significant speech issues.
I'm lucky that my friend Vicki is a speech therapist. She has been working with Robby since the summer and we have been making progress. Perhaps because I know that kindergarten is looming (incidentally it is referred to as "the 'k' word" in my house) I have been feeling increased pressure to refine his speech.
Robby becomes so frustrated when he is not understood. I am able to decipher his speech and have become so accustomed to the sounds that he substitutes that I sometimes forget that his patterns are not normal. I don't want him to become the subject of taunts and jokes because of his hearing and speech problems. (I worry that I'll whip my leg off and hit somebody over the head with it if they make fun of him.)
I feel guilty for becoming lax with his speech therapy. Although we haven't stopped working with him, it has lost the sense of urgency and priority that working with him deserves. Somehow life got in the way. I know that guilt is part of being a mother, but I've got a severe case right now!
I am redoubling my efforts to refine Robby's speech. Vicki gave us some picture books to use with him to help isolate sounds, and we're already hearing improvement. After working for a few days, Robby looked at me and said, "Momom, you are t.. t.. t... terrific!"
His sweet statement was then followed by, "Hey, I made the t sound. Did you hear that? T...t...t...t." He is very proud of himself. He has mastered the illusive t sound, but unfortunately now he sounds like he has a stutter. Every t sound is repeated, from t..t...t...tv to t...t...t...timeout. I guess I now have my project for when I'm recovering from my revision surgery this summer!
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