A Journey We Will Share

I have decided to start blogging about our struggles and joys of living with a child with Apraxia. Who knows, I may be the only one to read it, but it will be an outlet to get some of what I am feeling out.

Carter is our amazing 3 year old who seemed to be developing completely normal up until the age of 2. At that point I noticed he wasn't progressing in his speech development. Call it a mother's instinct or just plain being a worry wart but I was sure there was something wrong. Convincing others was not so easy. Most people I shared my concerns with just simply said he was young and would talk when he wanted to. Something just told me this wasn't right.

I was fortunate that our family doctor was kind enough to listen to my concerns. He may have done it just to calm me down or out of real concern, but he set up an evaluation by our local Area Education - Birth to 3. At the time he was evaluated he just barely qualified for services because he was so young it was hard to really tell how far he was behind but they agreed to come. We received services for a 5 months or so before I got antsy again. He had made absolutely no progress in all that time. I went back to the doctor and asked for an evaluation at the University Hospital. He agreed and I June 2009 we got our eval. Again because he was so young it was hard to tell but they definitely agreed that he had a deficit in speech. They prescribed speech therapy. So we then enlisted the help of a wonderful private therapist 20 miles from our home.

In the last 6 months he has made some really good progress. He started the special ed preschool in October where he receives speech therapy and the 2x a week I take him to his private therapist. We still struggle with acceptance from family and friends that there really is a problem. We are also being introduced to the world of IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) and making sure that the school district does there part to ensure he is getting what he needs.

Most of all I want to make sure that he knows that we love him, and that he is happy. He is sooo amazing and bright. It is so frustrating when we cannot tell what he is trying to tell us. This truly is a family affair though. We have 3 other older children and this affects us all. They are wonderful with him and they know his brain isn't quite working right.

I know he is only three but I constantly worry. Is their something I did wrong to cause this? Will he ever learn to talk in a way he can have a conversation with others? Are all the choices we are making the best for him? Will he be able to have a fulfilling, successful life? What will happen when he realizes he is different?

For now all that is important is that we love him, and he seems happy and healthy and I cannot imagine our life without him!