29 December 2009

shhhhhhhh.

it's awfully quiet around here these days.

I have a call into a professional speech therapist for ginny. at 16 months she is only "saying" (I use this word loosely) 1 word -- dog. or is it dug. when b comes home from hospital ginny gives him a giant smile and she points enthusiastically.
"dug!"
I hand her a hummus and whole wheat sandwich.
"dug."
I get her tub ready.
"dug."
it's getting to be a bit unsettling. I have a bunch of friends with children her age and they all have a growing collection of words. one little girl actually says "thank you." I'm not pushing for sentences here I'm simply looking for mama or apple or hi or even a proper dog. I should add that we do get the occasional "uh, oh."

I think her hearing is fine. she signs for milk (the cutest thing EVER!) and signals to brush her teeth. we go through hours of flashcards each day. appppple. cowwwww. flowwwwer. over and over again. nothing.
just "dug."

hopefully after the holiday season someone will call me back and we'll get ginny in to see the specialist. oh man. it's truly always something.

5 comments:

DAVs said...

It IS always something.
I really hope though, that it's nothing, and that like everything, every kid does things on their own schedule. But hopefully the speech therapist can shed some light.
I hope that soon--very soon--she starts talking and never stops :)

Erin said...

I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much. I am an infant and toddler coordinator and I see these kinds of problems all the time. More often than not, either the child starts talking on their own, or early speech pathology is only needed for a short time. Please keep us updated.

Sue said...

Don't worry too much. It's more important that she understands what you're saying rather than being able to say anything herself. The speech therapist will be able to determine if you just need to do some speech exercises at home with her or if she needs some short term therapy. It's good you're looking into it now, but don't stress out about it - this seems to be quite common.

K @ ourboxofrain said...

I have no advice, but I do have much sympathy. We're facing a similiar issue (and the lack of mama kills me a little inside), and it sucks to be so stressed out about it, especially when everyone else's same-age child seems to be full of stuff to say that's as clear as day. Harry does have a few words, but it didn't stop the random pedi we saw when his was out from diagnosing him as having a speech delay and recommending early intervention. We declined at the time, but may reconsider if his regular doctor makes the same recommendation when we see her next week.

I hope the specialist gets back to you soon and that it proves to be either nothing at all or something easily worked on.

Shinny said...

Marjorie didn't really start with the speaking until she was about 18 months. She had a few words before that but I was freaking out since my son started saying words at 6 months and was talking in sentences at 18 months, apparently HE was a freak of nature as the doctor would lose it when this little thing would start talking. ;) So don't stress too much, I know easier said then done. I hope it just turns out that she is a late talker, it happens, she just doesn't have anything to say right now. Believe me when I say that I regret wanting the speech to kick in now that it is ALL DEMANDS ALL DAY LONG!!! She has yet to find her inside voice. ;) Happy New Year to you and yours.