Our therapist was really good. She wasn't able to get him to cooperate enough to manipulate his mouth, but she was able to do lots of assessments. Basically he can hear, understand, and follow directions. But we already knew that. He tested up to a 4 yr old level in his comprehension.
She was impressed with his ability to communicate a three step thought through his little hand gestures. To me it's just another day, but I'm home with him all the time. I know what he needs just by looking at him.
She could see his frustration with his lack of ability to communicate more. From that first one hour visit, her first two thoughts are he might have tongue tie and/or apraxia. (She could see his tongue a little when he was throwing one of his loud 3-yr-old-tantrums. But needs to try manipulating more next time.)
From what I've read on-line, it's pretty hard to diagnose 2-3 yr olds with apraxia, but sometimes speech therapists will give a diagnosis of "potential apraxia." I guess in children in this situation it's better to diagnose and be incorrect than to miss it. Either way, if it's tongue tie, apraxia, or just speech delay, he'll get some extra attention to get him back on track.
Even the first session was a huge help for me. She gave me four signs to teach him so he can be less frustrated. Also, we need to stop "eh eh" to get what he needs. She taught me how to listen to his babbling to find the words and reinforce when he says something right. In the last 1-1/2 days I have found more words he has been using -- or trying to use.
Now we have to wait on insurance to start more therapy sessions. We happened to get new insurance the day he had his assessment, so now the clinic needs to get approval before we can schedule the next appointments. Hopefully we'll hear something next week.
I'm excited to get this little guy some help. I can't imagine how frustrated he must feel sometimes.
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