Isaac had a speech therapy session today. The first few sessions were somewhat frustrating to me. Isaac would clam up, pout his lips and refuse to interact with the speech therapist. He obviously thought she was from a different planet the way she was talking to him; slow, simple and with signs. She would then spend most of her time coaching me. What I should say and not say to him. Things I should do. Stop asking him questions. By the end of the sessions I was completely overwhelmed, discouraged and somewhat confused. I’d try the things she told me through out the week but couldn’t see much result (if I ever remembered to do them.)With Isaac clamming up, I felt like she wasn’t getting to know how he talked and addressing the real issues. I could see her point on how I should simplify my language, giving him more opportunities for imitation but I really wanted more specific directions… like particular words to work on or sounds, ways to challenge him.
I talked to a friend of mine who use to be a speech pathologist and she said that coaching me was the right thing for the speech therapist to do. She can’t control what Isaac is saying but can control the way parents are interacting with the child. This was a little more comforting and I decided I would try to be more positive.
It was hard though. This morning I was wishing she’d call me to tell me she had the flu. I was feeling like I had enough on my plate and didn’t want to listen to a hour and half of how crappy of a mom I was.
When she showed up, I tried to get Isaac excited that she was coming to play toys. It might have worked because he was defiantly not so pouty about it all. He actually talked to her a little bit… which was practically the first sounds she had heard out of his mouth. Yea! She said it was a good session and was glad he was interacting with her. She even focused on making some sounds.
Of course, I still have my part to do with the interactive play.
I’m not the kind of mom that likes getting down on the floor and playing with my kids. I’m happy when they can entertain themselves. Today’s session was all about me using the play time as an opportunity for making simple sounds. We focused on P, B, D and words that have sounds in the front of the mouth. It was something more tangible for me.
She gave me a turn to play with him while she watched. I sat there thinking “Oh my gosh. What in the heck am I suppose to say? How did she get him to act so calm? How did she say this or that. How can I not ask a question…” Soon Isaac was throwing blocks all around and I felt like an ultimate loozer. I couldn’t get my own child to say UP or OPEN without totally loosing it. She told me I did great but honestly it was so frustrating.
When she left I had to eat something and turn on the TV for Isaac. Breath!! Overall, though, I feel better about this session and have more hope for the future of Isaac’s progress.
My name is Manda and I love creating 
Keep your chin up! Speech therapy can be incredibly frustrating and discouraging for everyone involved. But in our experience, it took a couple months of three sessions a week, and then it was like a switch was flipped and our son just ‘got’ it. It’s got a pretty steep learning curve.
I bet once Isaac is more comfortable with the therapist and everyone has a better idea of what to do and what to expect, things will improve very quickly. Good luck!
I’m right there with you. We just had our 3rd session with the speech therapist for our son and I also find it very frustrating. (Ours only comes 2 times per month, I can’t imagine having to do it three times a week like Micki!)
Good luck with it!
I haven’t read backwards in your blog, so I don’t know if you’ve given more details about Isaac’s speech therapy, but I’ll tell you about my experience with speech problems with MY Isaac (truly, my son is named Isaac, too).
Little bugger wasn’t using any consonants of any kind at age 2. Everything was grunting. First they tested his hearing (which I laughed at – I could be in the next room and whisper “freezer pop” and he’d come running LOL). Then we started speech therapy. Similar to your experience, except for the few sessions we went, Isaac was cooperative. He wouldn’t SAY anything (just grunt), but he paid attention and played the games.
I finally guessed that at least part of why he didn’t talk was he didn’t have to. He could point to the fridge and I just knew what he wanted. So… I stopped knowing. He pointed, and I knew he wanted yogurt. “You want some cheese? Some o.j.? Some mustard? Horseradish? This yucky bag of liquid that used to be a vegetable?” I kept doing that with everything.
And then I stumbled on it. He LOVED playing computer games. He was 2 years old and could play on the computer. One day he did the point-and-grunt, and I said, “Not until you say Ma.” 34 hours of point-and-grunt and whining and crying and fussing and while he was crying once, he had his mouth shut, but then opened his mouth to cry louder. But it sounded like Ma. I made a huge deal out of and let him play for 15 minutes. Then I told him it was time to turn it off. He got all whiny and fussy and then I practically saw a light bulb go off over his head and he said in a questioning voice, “Ma?” So, I let him play for a bit longer. Then it was time for it to go off (just ’cause 25 minutes is enough).
Two weeks later he was a chatterbox. I couldn’t understand much, but there were consonants and different vowels other than “uh”. At his three year checkup, the doc asked how his speech was coming along. I laughingly said, “How do you shut.him.up!”
Two years old – not a consonant.
Three years old – he’s telling me stories about brachiosaurus.
I hope things get better with your Isaac soon.
I am sorry, that does sound frustrating, but for the record – you are among the greatest mothers that I know. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.
I had no idea that Isaac needed speech therapy, but you are a wonderful mother and it’s wonderful that you are helping Isaac out.
That is frustrating. I liked the comments, though. You are an awesome Mom, just give it time.
I like how you share you ups and downs on your blog. Mothering is so hard. You do a great job!
You have a great passion for life. Its hard to have someone tell you what ways to interact with your child and kinda awkward for you to have to interact with an audience. Love you.
I agree with mom, it’s good to know i’m not the only one who has hard days as a mom. And I also agree with all the other comments…you are a great mom!! You have 2 adorable kids and one on the way…you must be doing something right!
Speech does stink.
How in the world are you not supposed to ask him questions? Isn’t that part of encouraging communication? ASKING for a response?
Jonas did speech – and when things clicked- wow – did they click! He went from screaming for what he wanted to being the kid who wouldn’t shut up overnight.