Speech Therapy

Nicky still seems to be about 6 months behind in the language department, which is completely understandable. He came from a situation where he was to only be seen, not heard, and was then thrust into a world where a different language was spoken altogether! Has to be weird for a 2 3/4 year old - not only does he have to learn to say different words, but he has to learn how to hear them first!

Anyway - Nicky had his evaluation with the Plano Independent School District's (PISD) Early Childhood School on Monday & I'm happy to announce that he was accepted and will begin speech therapy classes on his birthday (April 6, in case you're wondering)! I guess most parents aren't too open to the diagnosis (speech delay/impairment) from the manner in which they deliver the news - they're very sensitive. Kinda feels funny to be excited about my child having an impairment. Although, what I'm really excited about is the fact that we might one day understand what the little guy is telling us!!! He has several words in his vocabulary now, however, they're all nouns, with a handful of verbs thrown in. So everything is "_____ did it" or "_____ coming", or just "bird. school. Nikita. home." Hmmmm...we figure that translates as "Nikita is going to school and will see the bird then we'll go home." But - maybe he's telling us "I want a bird like the one at school." And our answer is "Yes - a bird at school." And maybe he thinks we're agreeing to purchase said bird, which would send Kris into a tizzy - he's not a big fan of birds you see. So - we have to be really careful in our answers! I try to acknowledge what Nicky says with a "uh huh" or "ok" or "oh"; I try to stay away from solid "yes" or "no" answers unless I'm positive I know what he's saying...who knows what I could be agreeing with!

Nicky has such a big thirst for knowing what the things are around him. I occasionally take him on a tour of the house, going from room to room, asking him what the name of each room is and what some of the items in the room are called. Last night we were in the kitchen & I asked him what the oven was called & without hesitation he excitedly said "chicken!" Yup - that's where we cook the chicken...good job buddy! :) It must be so weird to be in a world surrounded by all these strange objects and not have a name for them!

Anyway - we're not exactly sure on his new schedule yet, it could be 2 or 3 days each week, we'll find out in a week or so. The "short bus" (tee hee hee) will pick him up at his current preschool, then take him to the PISD school, where he'll have 2 hours of communication class, play for another 45 minutes, then will return to his preschool. The school itself would be $280/month without the impairment, but since he has a delay - bonus for us...it's all free of charge! We're actually getting to take advantage of our tax dollars! Yeah for that! We are so thrilled for him to benefit from such a great program & can't wait for him to get started.