Therapy, Tantrums, and a Cat Called Dog

We have officially been in therapy for a little over a month now and it is slowly becoming part of our daily routine. Although it makes every task a whole lot slower, almost everything we do through out the day can be a teaching exercise to help develop Levi's communication. Right now, the main thing we are working on with Levi is teaching him to communicate through signing. We are also working painfully joyfully on teaching him that we no longer respond to crying as a form of communication. (Obviously, if he is scared, hurt, etc. we respond!) This has brought about some pretty big tantrums, but it is so important for Levi to learn that toddlers communicate with their words and not their screams. 

Exhibit A: Communicating with our cries

 Since being in therapy, Levi has had some slow but promising progress! He is picking up on some signing, although he still refuses to sign himself. Instead, he will grab my hands and sign with them. It's reallllllly pretty cute, but I try and stay strong and make him sign himself. He has had a few moments where he has hinted that he might even understand a few of the signs enough to communicate with them. In addition to this, Levi has said his first word. Oh how I wish that I could tell you it was MaMa or DaDa. But alas, the single word Levi has chosen to learn is "Dog". And he uses it in reference to my parent's cat. But we will take it! 

We got the results from Levi's evaluation & communication test a couple weeks ago and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to read. No one wants to hear that their child is not perfect. No one wants to hear that their child is further behind that they originally thought. And no one EVER wants to hear the words "severe deficit" and "half his age" in reference to their child's development. But, sadly, we did hear those things. And we cried, and sulked, and shook our fists, and had a good long day of hating everyone on Instagram who was posting photos of their perfectly developing child (okay the last one was just me). Thankfully, the Lord meets us wherever we are, and He met us in those moments and continues to meet us in the those moments every day. Because let's be real, I still have many moments of jealousy and hatred every week ever day. But if those that are single can rejoice with those who are getting married, and if those who are longing for a child and are without can rejoice with those expecting, then you better believe that I (after confessing the thoughts of my prideful and jealous heart) can and should rejoice and celebrate the lives and accomplishments of my friend's children. 

"Sit down? I don't understand that sign"

To summarize Levi's evaluation, he is 16 months old and measuring at an 8 month old communication level. This places him in 2-3 percentile of where his peers are (so he is not alone!) His hearing tests have come back normal, so as of right now we do not have an explanation for his communication delays. We most likely will be doing blood work and potentially brain scans in the following months to rule out a few disorders and conditions that can cause speech disorders. In the meantime, we will be seeing a speech therapist 2-3 times a week for the next six months. At the end of the six months, he will be retested and reevaluated. 

We are praying and hoping with pried open hands that Levi will not test positive for any disorders or brian damage and that he will make huge strides in his therapy over the next 6 months. We are also praying for positive outlooks and thankful hearts. And we are daily thankful and grateful for the sweet, cuddly, hyper-active, little boy we have been blessed and entrusted with.