Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Sigh ... the Sound of a Frustrated Mother

Well, as I should have expected, the doctor appointment yesterday did not go how I would have liked. In my perfect little world, I would have loved nothing more than for the pediatrician to tell me that I have a perfect, smart little boy who has exceeded all expectations to date. That she was incredibly impressed at how much his speech has improved since our last visit and that he is off to the races to conquer the world.

Unfortunately it did not go as such. The pediatrician still quite concerned at Kaelen's lack of speech because he doesn't have (in her assessment) a 300 word vocabulary and he isn't speaking in 3 -5 word sentences such as "I want some juice please". Yah - show me a 2 year old child that can say that and I will accept that my son is possibly behind. In addition to this, she still seems to have a hard time believing me when I say that he can hear just fine and that his level of comprehension is extraordinary. I would match Kaelen's comprehension to that of a 3 - 4 year old child any day. You see, because Kaelen did not really crawl or walk until 18 months, he had no choice but to observe and listen. He is a smart little cookie that knows what is going on and thankfully he proved that point with the doctor yesterday as she put him through a few listening and comprehension tests.

The moral of this long winded post is that I still feel that Kaelen is just fine so I am going to ask my family doctor for a referral to another pediatrician; strictly for a second opinion. If this new doctor feels that Kaelen is behind, then obviously we must accept that he is behind and take proactive measures to help him out. As horrible as it sounds, if it does turn out that Kaelen needs speech therapy intervention, I just don't know how we are going to work that out. Therapy sessions take place during the weekdays and both Paul and I work. I guess that I won't worry about that too much right now and deal with it if and when the time comes.

Sigh .... being a Mommy some days is hard on one's abililty to believe in themselves and their inner instinct.

1 comment:

beth said...

I think going to another doctor is an excellent idea. You know best - you are the mom. And you saw what everyone had to say in response to my post about Sam's speech - skills at these early ages are all over the place. What is most important is that you have a ped. that you trust and like and can offer you SUPPORT, not make you feel bad about your child. Go get a 2nd opinion.