Adam* was six when he first walked into my speech therapy office. He had bright, curious eyes and the energy of eight children at their first sleepover.
He wanted to touch every toy in the room — and he definitely wanted to talk!
When he tried to speak, however, the words rumbled around his mouth like a toddler holding an open lemonade — his words were ice, unable to decide whether to stay in the cup or fall to the ground.
The sounds that escaped didn’t consistently resemble words you or I would say.
There are many components to the art of conversation that go far beyond individual speech sounds.
Adam struggled with nearly all of them.
And while he also struggled with many social aspects of language, he was still very motivated to play.
Adam put forth the effort to learn his new speech and language skills to receive his coveted playtime reward nearly every time.
His parents were present during every session and motivated to learn ways to help their son at home.
Adam was in speech therapy three times a week, then twice a week, for over four years.
Can you imagine your insurance restricting you to just five visits?
His parents braved many obstacles to get their son the help he needed, namely moving to a bigger city with better educational programs to meet his unique needs and battling ongoing insurance limits.
Today, Adam can read, write, and hold a conversation. Some days are tough still; his parents occasionally wonder if they made the right decision.
They joke with me, “All this time I spent wishing my kid would speak, and now he just won’t — stop — talking!”
And I tell them — that’s a good problem to have.
*Name changed for confidentiality
Author: Becca Peterson
