They are so important. It's how we communicate with the world. Well, a few weeks ago when Ethan went to the doctor (the first time he'd seen this particular lady) it came up that he didn't talk very much. He has a few words, and several signs, but he's just not interested in talking. He's only 17 months old. It just didn't seem like a big deal to me, I mean, Abby has been talking since about 13 months, but all kids do things at different times, right? So, the doctor recommended that he be referred to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) to evaluate his language. As of today we have had three sessions with ECI, and they are truly a wonderful group of people, they were only interested in trying to decide if Ethan was really behind enough to be concerned and to require their services.
This morning three different people came in and observed Ethan and asked me a ton of questions. Ultimately, they were impressed with his gross motor skills, his fine motor skills, and his socialization skills, all of which he was either right on target with other kids his age, or even more advanced than he should be. His language, after much discussion and observation, was determined to be 1 to 2 months behind. At 18 months, they want him to have about 20 words, and if you count his signs, he has about 15 or 16. To qualify for their services the child must be about 4 months behind, so he doesn't qualify. They said that if he doesn't expand his vocabulary in the next three months, to give them a call and they would re-evaluate him at that time.
I still don't think he's really behind at all, although I'm not the expert, and I am positive that by the end of the summer he will be impossible to keep quiet for any amount of time. He's such a sweet, loving little boy, and I think he's just more interested in throwing things and climbing than he is in talking right now!
1 comment:
You are the mom and you know what he is needs!! My experience: Eli was slow talking too. He didn't need to talk...he had Isaiah "big brother" and us doing (and talking) everything for him. He still is hard for some people to understand. He gets in a hurry and rushes his words. Or doesn't take time to say them correctly. But I think time will help that and making him slow down. Isaiah talked earlier and very clear. I always say that Eli has "second child syndrome" that is what I call it. :) I also talked to other moms with children about the same age difference as mine and they had the same or similar experiences with their second child being "slower" than the first when doing things. I still have to watch Isaiah trying to talk for Eli. Isaiah I guess wants to have all the answers I feel bad sometimes calling him down so Eli can talk but don't know any other way to do it. Keep me posted how things go with Ethan. :)
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