Speech Therapy

Today was Leilani's first speech therapy session. Things went about as well as expected-- Leilani was super friendly and outgoing with the doctor but didn't make a peep until it was almost over. And of course, the peep wasn't a word, just a sound. However, she did have a good time. She liked the doctor and all the toys she got to play with. She was very cooperative and on her absolute best behavior. Mike and I were very proud of her.

Leilani is really smart for her age (17 1/2 months). Everyone who meets her mentions something to that effect. She can problem-solve like a two year old, climb, run, invent games, stack, mimic, scribble, and even drive a freaking mini ATV. But she just doesn't talk. Her only words so far have been "na" (for animals), "no" which she's just starting to say and sounds very similar to her "na", and the occasional "mama" (and I don't think she actually means me).

She also doesn't seem to understand me or Mike most of the time either. Some times it seems like she might understand us, but mostly it's like talking to a wall. Needless to say, communicating gets very frustrating around here.

One thing that has been really bugging me lately has been the fact that we recognized this as a problem six months ago and we are only now getting help. When Leilani was 11 months old, we were continually told that she'll start talking at any moment. That it was "just around the corner." I wish we could have done something about this earlier. Unfortunately, no one listened and here we are, Leilani's almost a year and a half old and not saying anything. It clearly isn't just a case of Leilani starting to talk a little late. She has real speech issues. I'm very happy that we're finally getting somewhere.