Private Speech Therapy

EK had her 1st speech therapy session today at Child's Play in Hoover.  We went two weeks ago to meet her therapist and fill out paper work.  Today's session was our 1st real session.  Her therapist, LuLu, did several activities that EK really enjoyed.  First they played with Dot Paint and EK was obsessed with the color purple and said it over and over.  She made great eye contact with LuLu and even took turns with her as they made a picture.  Next they played with bubbles and of course EK loved this.  She really enjoys poking the bubbles and saying "Pop, Pop, Pop".  They ended their 30 minute session with a jack in the box.  EK requested it from the toy shelf by using the word "Box".  She even said the word "clown" several times which I have never heard her say.  Eva Kate had several melt downs between activities, but luckily they were short lived.  So hard to see her have these melt downs on the other side of a two way mirror/window.  On a positive note- The therapist said that she met many of the goals that she had set from our 1st meeting and was very impressed with EK's jargon.  LuLu said that her jargon had great tone and her voice went up and down when she jabbered showing some good language patterns.  I just hope to hear more and more new words come from Eva Kate's mouth that I can understand.   Below is a photo I took through the two way mirror during EK's session.

Today at Child's Play I also purchased a chew stick for Eva Kate.  I felt like I was purchasing a dog toy.  I have gone back and forth on whether or not these are a good thing.  I decided it was more of a safety measure for EK.  In the evenings when I am cooking dinner and EK is having TV time we have caught her on several occasions chewing on the laptop computer's charger cable.  We find that her chewing is the worst while watching tv.  We try to limit TV to times when we can't physically be in the room watching her every move- because tv is something she is very attentive to.  After noticing that her chewing habits are decreasing in frequency and noticing they are usually only seen during tv time, made me decide to get her this tool to get her oral "fix" in for the day.  My biggest fear has been that we would be encouraging a bad habit by giving her this chew stick.  It's only the first day with the chew stick, but hopefully this will be a safe chew device for her to increase the oral sensation she is seeking and also cut down on amount of time she spending chewing each day.

EK did qualify for Trace Crossings Elementary Special Ed Preschool program.  We go next Thursday to her eligibility meeting and to write her IEP.  A HUGE thanks to Laura Jones for helping get me several good resources as we transition from the early intervention program in our community to the school system.  Laura is a special ed teacher who has also worked with Early Intervention.  She has been such a wonderful resource for us during this time of million questions.