In the first week of June, I paid $200 for a speech and language evaluation. I was told that my son was on the line for speech for his age, and just under for language - he would thrive with a few therapy lessons. Great! 😁 But...there was quite a waiting list. Not so great! 😧

I was told to look for another Speech Pathologist in the meantime, and also seek an Occupational Therapist.

Now, there are very few Speech Therapists where I’m from, maybe 4 places that take on people of all ages from two big towns. So, everywhere that I checked had a waiting list. I sought out an OT, and after one $100 session (that lasted 10 whole minutes!!), she explained that she was happy with him, and he didn’t need her.

So, as I waited for any Speech Therapist to get back to me, I’ve Googled my life away on how to go about teaching my son myself! However, everything that I’ve tried, he doesn’t want a bar of. When he’s not interested, he refuses to do it. And it’s hard because not only does he have a short attention span (I think he may have ADHD like his Dad, but that apparently can’t be diagnosed until at least 6yrs old 🥴), he also has a 10 month old sister that I have to pay attention to so that she doesn’t get behind too.

I’ve tried sitting with my son in a secluded room with nothing but one thing to focus on, but he just throws a tantrum until I let him out.

He’s doing pretty good. He used to only say 5 words occasionally. Now, he’s saying about 35-40, and most are 2-3 word sentences. And he can communicate with me now through pointing and bringing things to me (e.g. if he wants his shoes on, he brings them to me, says thank you and sits down with a foot up for me to put it on). He’s a great problem solver too! He wanted something (he’s not allowed) off the bench, and so he got two of his plastic cups from his pretend kitchen and stood on them to reach. He also knows to push his slide over to the door of the trampoline so that he can get on without help (he learnt this himself!). He can also point to things when asked. Not all things, but quite a few. Before, he would just cry and I’d have to figure out what he wanted, and he couldn’t put to anything but a fan when asked.

But he still needs that extra bit of help. My family remind me of this every single day. They make me feel like I’ve failed as a mother!! 😭

So if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears!