Update on Zachary

Zach had his assessment with ECI this morning. His new speech therapist, Maria, is so incredibly nice and she and Zach got along sooooo well. She and the ECI liaison were with us for over an hour asking lots of questions, interacting directly with him and observing him. At the end of the assessment, they advised that he is about one year behind on his communication skills - exactly as I suspected. He has mastered his alphabet, but is just beginning to learn how to string words and syllables together using all those wonderful sounds. I asked if there could be an unpleasant reason for this delay and Maria said that some kids work on mastering motor skills first and then catch up later with their communication skills. My boy has definitely been working on those motor skills so I guess he is ready to talk with us now!

When they asked me for my primary goal of the speech therapy, I said "Two way communication, please!!" A few minutes later, Zach solidified that request by having a meltdown and crying to me in a language that is all his own. He does this every time he gets upset. He gets frantic and desperately tries to get us to understand him, but he is so upset that he can't seem to access any communication skills. It generally escalates ending in a full blown tantrum. I was actually glad they got to witness it because it helped Maria better focus the plan of action.

So his speech therapy officially begins in two weeks and will be every Friday for one hour for 12 weeks. In the time between sessions, I will work with him using the techniques Maria provides. Hopefully you will begin to notice a difference in him each time you see him. Maybe we get some language mastered sooner rather than later so we can get on with potty training because I really think this boy is ready!