January: Kiddo had only three "words" ('ow', 'uh' for up and 'uh uh' for no) but otherwise was silent. My first post was about Kiddos' journey before 2013. We also started fish oil supplementation which gave us some hyperactivity but more importantly, the beginning of him making sounds and attempting to imitate the sounds we asked of him.
February: I recorded Kiddos' first speech video of him working with our awesome speech therapist. I'll be honest, sometimes when I get really discouraged with how far he still has to go, I watch that video again and remember how far he has come. I remember how excited I was just that he was making sounds when we recorded this video. I'm posting it here so that you can celebrate with me how far he has come. :)
March: Kiddo could imitate several vowel sounds and two consonant sounds, and could spontaneously say six words.
April: I initiated Operation Overcome Sensory Issues and began to see ah-mah-zing results. :) He is no longer bothered by the noise of vacuum cleaners or other loud noises as long as he has warning about them. He is much less bothered by wind, and will let me wash his hair without screaming as long as water stays out of his ears and eyes. Huge progress.
May: Kiddo started saying his animal sounds, his colors, and imitating sounds and words. May 14th was also the first Apraxia Awareness Day, in which I shared the blog with the Facebook, Google+, and Twitter world.
June: Kiddo turned three. :) We also started biomed--which really just entailed lots of research and introducing a few supplements other than fish oil.
July: Went to CHAMP Camp at George Washington University in DC, where we received the official diagnosis (severe Apraxia of Speech and a moderate receptive delay) and a week of intensive therapy with Ms. Katie and the fabulous Jodi Kumar. During that week, Kiddo went from about 20 to about 30 words and learned how to make the "k" sound. I made some awesome friendships with parents who could relate. I then got to guest post about our experience on one of my favorite apraxia blogs.
August: Met with a DAN doctor to discuss nutrition and supplementation for Kiddo. Celebrated Little Brother's first birthday. Met a new friend in our area with apraxia, and started working with a new speech therapist.
September: Kiddo's vocabulary increased to about 100 words. Check out the speech videos.
October: Missed a lot of speech therapy, but had lots of fun on two family trips out of state.
November: Finally got around to recording a video of Kiddo reading his sight words. Yep, he can read! Kiddo also started speaking in phrases which means we can now have conversations! Whoo hoo! Here's the video of him reading his words on his flashcards.
December: Kiddo now says about 300 words spontaneously, and is beginning to use two or three word phrases with prompting or spontaneously.
Overall, I'd say 2013 has been a very blessed year and can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2014. :)
That is so awesome to see it perspective like that. Way to go Kiddo!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kris! I agree, I have to keep reminding myself to keep this perspective because it is so easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed with how far he still has to go. But he sure has come a long way! :)
DeleteWere so proud of you Ethan and you too mummy and daddy! I can see how the Lord has provided much Opportunity for growth and community. In sure the journey has its challenges but yes he's come so far!
ReplyDeleteWere so proud of you Ethan and you too mummy and daddy! I can see how the Lord has provided much Opportunity for growth and community. In sure the journey has its challenges but yes he's come so far!
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