Speech Therapy

I just received a phone call from the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre informing me of Josh's appointment with a Speech therapist. I didn't even know that he had been referred to a speech language pathologist so one of two things must have happened. One: Dr. Ponesse (Josh's child development specialist) had gone ahead and sent in a referral last fall knowing that there was a long wait list -- even though he told me that he would wait until Josh was 18 months old as that age was a better indicator of speech development. Or Two: Josh's physiotherapist spoke with Dr. Ponesse after his last appointment with her a couple of weeks ago.

Josh's PT and I had a brief discussion about Josh's speech. She had asked if he had any words yet and I had mentioned that he has a few. He says mama, dada and gaga (for garbage) consistently. He babbles a lot but there's no other words that he uses consistently. I've gotten a 'ow' for cow and I've gotten a 'da' for dog, and I swear once he said 'boy' but these are all isolated incidents that I haven't been able to get him to repeat. An 18 month old should have about 20 words that they use consistently. Josh is 17 months old so I guess he's a bit behind.

He does do some animal sounds though. He can do an elephant, a monkey, and a lion/tiger (they both get the same sound). Yesterday I got a 'oof oof' for a dog and a 'me' for cat.

One thing I am not concerned about is Josh's comprehension of language. He can definitely understand what we are saying and is able to follow simple instructions. So that's certainly a plus.

Josh's assessment with a speech therapist is on Feb. 2. I can't imagine how that assessment is going to go since Josh is so shy. It's really hard to get much out of him in that environment so I imagine a lot of the assessment will be based on what I tell the therapist. I've already started a list of his words and sounds. At any rate I'll be sure to let you all know how the assessment goes.

In the meantime I'll leave you with a couple of pics of Josh playing with one of his favoutie stuffed animals. Thanks for checking in!

My Son Won't Look Like A Hippie After All

You may recall from a previous post that the last time we took Josh to get his haircut, the top of his ear was cut. I was certain that that incident had destined Josh to a childhood with long shaggy hair as I could not imagine that Robb would ever let me get his haircut again. To my surprise I was wrong.

It's been about 2 months since Josh's last haircut and he was starting to look a little shaggy and really needed a trim but I had no intention of bringing up the subject with Robb...yet. I figured I would wait a little longer, give him some more time and then maybe he'd feel comfortable with taking him back. But Robb beat me to it. He mentioned that Josh's hair was getting long and we should probably take him in to get a trim. I looked at Robb, mouth gaped open, not believing what I had just heard. I made an appointment the next day and Josh got his hair cut last weekend - without incident :)














In other news, Josh saw his physiotherapist on Jan. 14 - his first appointment with her since he started walking. He was pretty shy in the beginning and was reluctant to show off any of his new tricks but he eventually came around and did some walking. He didn't walk as much or as well as he does at home but enough that she could assess him. So far his walking looks good - symmetrical and he doesn't seem to be dragging his right foot. She even took him over to the stairs to see how he would do and he did them like a champ! So far everything is looking great and I couldn't be happier.

There's still a few things that he's not doing yet such as crouching down to the ground and then standing up again (he can crouch but his legs aren't strong enough to stand himself up). He's also not pushing himself up from four point (crawling) to standing without using a piece of furniture to hang on to. I don't see this as being a big deal because I know he will get there eventually, but since he hasn't developed these skills yet he has dropped below the 5th percentile on the gross motor development chart. Again, no big deal but it means we're not done with physio yet. We go back on March 11, so we'll see how he's doing then.

Not much else to report....we did manage to take Josh out sledding early last week before the deep freeze hit us. He loved being in his sled and had a great time and we enjoyed watching him have so much fun. Hopefully once the frigid temperatures let up we can get him outside for some more winter fun.

2008 Was a Good Year

A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

I had been hoping to post this sooner but I just haven't had much spare time lately. Josh hasn't been sleeping well for the last week or so and he has never been a real good sleeper to begin with, so that translates in t0 even less sleep for me. I'm not sure why he isn't sleeping - it's probably related to teething, but it's hard to tell for sure. Hopefully this will pass soon so we can both get some rest.

It's hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Our Christmas was lovely. Josh was a bit overwhelmed with the whole thing but he does seem to enjoy all his new toys. Josh was actually quite cranky on Christmas day. He's been teething and so he has good days and bad days. Christmas was a bad day but we made the most of it, saving his gifts for his less irritable moments.

The rest of the day was pretty low-key. Josh and I spent a couple of hours at Robb's sister's place - while Robb slaved away in the kitchen :) - and when we returned we enjoyed a fabulous turkey dinner.

Robb's whole family got together on Boxing Day to exchange gifts and enjoy a nice meal at Robb's brother's house in Carleton Place. A good time was had by all and thanks to Christina for cooking a delicious meal.

So 2008 has come and gone. No one knows for certain what 2009 will bring but I wish you all the very best for a happy and healthy new year.