Delay of Game

As a mom, you expect your child to have many labels- good kid, sweet kid, funny kid, quiet kid, kid with those incredible cheeks.  Some labels are easier to accept than others and some labels, when handed out make you hope they don't stick around forever.  Price was recently given the label of being "developmentally delayed."

It started a few months ago when we went in for his 18 month check up.  I know he's a smart kid, but I expressed some concerns to our doc that I was having about his communication skills (or lack thereof).  At 18 months, he didn't have very many words that he used on a regular basis and when he he did, I wasn't sure if he really was making a connection between the word and the object he was identifying.    People always tell you that boys are slower to talk than girls, that only children don't talk as much because they don't have to, that all kids talk in their own time. Plus, being the loquacious gal that I am and being someone who gets a true delight from words (expressed both written and orally) and the connections they have and where they come from, I thought maybe I was just expecting too much from my tiny tot. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something was a little off.  The doctor agreed and referred us to the local early intervention services.

After several evaluations, Price was admitted to the program with the diagnosis of a developmental delay.  It's very hard as a mom, who wants nothing but the best for her children, to see on paper at an early age his name associated with failure (I am not saying that he is a failure because of his delay, but he failed several of the language tests and it was hard to see his name and the word "failed" next to it).  Of course, my irrational side questions what I could have done differently when he was younger to have changed this course, could I have sung more songs, could I have read his books differently, did having the tv on so much when he was little do this?  My logical side reminds me that there is nothing I could have done differently and that we are on a good course and will help him overcome this delay.

Fortunately, we have some great people working with us and he is starting to pick some things up on his own.  Every time he adds a new word to his vocab and uses it correctly, we have a victory and we are one step closer to overcoming this challenge.  I am looking forward to the day he finally says, mom, mommy, momma- I don't care which one he chooses, I just know it's going to be the sweetest sound I ever hear.