My Quirky Kid: Hearing Test, Private Speech Evaluation, and breakthrough G Therapy

Hearing Test

Will’s hearing test at the district went great and, like I suspected, he doesn’t not have a hearing problem. The two Audiologists who administered the test were wonderful and very helpful and sweet. I expressed that I thought Will had a problem with auditory processing and they answered a lot of my questions about APD. Both of these women had been audiologists for at least 30 years and they both commented to me that while it was way too early to test for APD (not tested until 7 or 8), they did say that even though he easily passed the hearing test, he approached the test like a much younger child in his listening and problem solving skills. They suggested that maybe, as a whole, his auditory processing system in his brain is immature.

This hypothesis also makes sense to me. If Will’s auditory processing capabilities are delayed and he currently comprehends what a two year old would understand, then it would make sense that he would not be able to speak what he didn’t understand—explaining why he struggles with non verbs and nouns.

Personally, I like the diagnosis of a delay much better than a disorder, but I guess only time will tell.



Private Speech Evaluation

We found Miss Kathryn from a referral through our pediatrician, whom we have only ever visited once (for Duke’s 18 mos check-up), so it was pretty much a shot in the dark, but boy, we had a lucky shot! She is phenomenal! If you have a professional assessment of your child, the school district has to take that into consideration when making their decision on what services to offer to you. And seeing as how awful our first assessment went with the district, I didn’t want to take any chances and decided to opt for a private evaluation, since I knew Will would probably need private speech therapy any way.

I sat down with Kathryn while Will played and in less than two minutes I expressed that I was frustrated with the district and didn’t feel like anyone was listening to me. The district thinks that Will’s biggest problem is his speech delay. I think his biggest problem is that he can’t comprehend any verbal instructions in a classroom (something they cannot assess at the district level). Without missing a beat, Miss Kathryn said, “Ok, then I want him to come in for two more assessments to really get to the bottom of this processing issue before I make my final report. Any kind of processing delay is just too important to try to diagnose in just one hour.” Wow. Having someone actually error on the side of caution with my son instead of pawning off his struggles as him “being a boy” etc was a melody to my ears!

She took Will back into her super cool therapy “play place” (she practices out of her huge/beautiful home in Vienna) and directs me to a tower of trashy celebrity magazines and an overstuffed chair and ottoman. I was in heaven, to say the least.

About thirty minutes later, she comes out with Will and says, “Well I don’t know what the district was smoking when you came in, but he is a textbook case for a processing issue. I really just can’t believe they tried to pass him up.” I expressed that was why I was so distraught after our first assessment because as his mother, I knew something was wrong, but I felt like they were trying to make excuses why they wouldn’t be able to help him. She said, “We’re going to go all the way with this. If they deny him, we’ll appeal until they do. He should be in the Special Ed preschool, and nothing less at this point. We’ll do it until they cave”

I’m about ready to hug Miss Kathryn at the point. I can’t believe someone is completely on my/Will’s side! She says she wants to see him twice a week for speech therapy, but I said I was slightly concerned because our insurance only pays for 24 visits a year and speech therapy is about $200/hour (this is incredibly good coverage, BTW) to which she says, “Don’t worry about it, we’re going to appeal that too!”

Wow! I love her!

In my case, answers to prayers come about 30% through thoughts and impressions and 70% through people placed in my path. Miss Kathryn is most definitely an answer to my prayers and I am so relieved to have someone that will be able to fight for Will with Cortney and I.

Will has been such a trooper through all these assessments. Each time we need to go to one, I tell him that we’re going to get to play with someone new and he’s always really excited to get to wherever we’re going and find new toys to play with. He’s been so cooperative (during the assessments at least), and I’m so thankful for his willingness to go to so many new places with so many new people.

GT-Grandpa Therapy

Last week I was feeling a little stuck in a rut, and I didn’t have much on the horizon to look forward to get me out of the rut. Will was having a hard week and I commented to Cortney about how frustrating it was to be in the waiting game and that we really couldn’t start Will on any type of therapy plan until the district’s decision was made. And in the meantime, it just felt like we were wasting time when Will needs help now.

We went about our normal Saturday duties, periodically talking about what we could do for Will in the meantime when Cortney said, “Will really needs to be with your Dad.”

I had just been thinking the same thing.

We talked about it for about 2 minutes, and both agreed that Will being with my Dad was the best possible scenario for him at the moment, and immediately bought 2 flights to Long Beach.

This whole thing is going to be hard to explain, but I’ll do my best. My dad has a relationship with Will unlike any other of his grandchildren. They’re like Ying and Yang. They just “get” each other. And I think it started when Will stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while we went on a cruise when I was pregnant with Duke. I remember calling from Cabo San Lucas to check in on him and I was completely expecting my parents to sound exhausted, but my dad energetically answered the phone and after I asked the usual about how Will was doing, my Dad said, “You know you don’t have to call, he’s fine!” Ever since then, when my Dad calls he is always anxious to talk to Will and is always planning of when they can see each other again.

A few months after that, my dad asked how old Will would have to be to fly to CA alone—keep in mind that Will was just two years old at the time. Grandma and Grandpa started mailing Will postcards and pictures and Will was ecstatic to get something from “Papa”. Will can sit on my Dad’s lap for hours and read stories or work in the garage all day handing screws to my Dad while he builds something.

Dad is really quiet. He’s kind and giving and genuine, but he’s not one for a lengthy conversation. He’s also very handy and loves to fix and build things. And the more I think about Papa and Will’s relationship, I think one of the reasons they go so well together is that they share the same weaknesses and strengths. Will isn’t capable of a long conversation, but the kid can do almost anything with his nimble fingers. So he seems like the perfect match for Grandpa—less talk, more garage projects.

But it’s more than just sharing common interests. They just seem to be in heaven when they’re together. Will rarely acts out while he’s with Papa and we can completely credit Papa for weaning Will off binkies and getting Will to consistently poop in the potty—something we had tried multiple times before. Papa was the first adult Will knew by name, other than Mom and Dad.

It’s such a neat friendship. I love watching them together.

Considering Will’s current circumstances (a major move, switching schools, in need of therapy but can’t get any yet, low on friends, etc), being with Papa—a constant in his life—seemed like the most calming influence we could give to Will at the moment. We’ll be spending the next 10 days in CA for GT—Grandpa Therapy. Cortney and I both laughed that GT was probably more productive than Speech/Occupational Therapy, anyway.

This also perfectly coincided with a business trip Cort was taking to Santa Monica while we were there so we could get some Dad time in, too. Mom and Dad even offered to take the boys (so thoughtful) so I could spend a few days in Santa Monica with Cort. This means I will be spending most of the day in bed or lounging by the pool, reading, writing, and watching trash TV.

I feel relaxed just imagining it. Come to Mama!