Therapy Talk

Today is the day, Erin Reading from Therapy Talk comes to our apartment to have Virginia's first speech lesson. At Virginia's 2 year check up our doctor suggested having a hearing test done and a speech evaluation done. Since Virginia was not at the level of speech that is recommended at her age.

 I will be honest I kind of was shocked when he said a 2 year old should be saying 200 words. I knew Virginia wasn't talking as much as other kids her age. But I wasn't super concerned. I did want her to start talking more. But truthfully when speech was brought up I kind of flashed back to my childhood and my experience with speech therapy. I took speech lessons from preschool till 6th grade. I had a blast and all my teachers were great from what I can remember. But I do remember being picked on and such by kids. Which is not what I ever wish for my kid.

So I was holding back rolling my eyes as the doctor recommended different people to see. But in the end I knew I wanted the best for my child and if speech was going to help her then speech was what we were going to do. We are using Cabarrus County's Early Intervention services. They come to our home once a week to do speech lessons with Virginia.

Of course this morning I was running around cleaning up quickly before Erin got here at 11:30am. I could hear my mother's voice in my head telling me to always have your home in the shape as if you were expecting visitors. Love you Mom! Then it is funny as I am thinking ok do I need to have shoes on? Can I go bare foot? Should I leave Virginia in her PJ's or put some nice clothes on? I did put on clothes and socks. No shoes, just didn't feel the need. Virginia had on a nice outfit and not her cookie pj's .
I wasn't sure what to expect from Erin. I knew on the phone she sounded really young. When she walked in I was a little shocked at how young she was. She looked like she was my age or younger. It is so funny now a days to think about people being younger then me. First thought when seeing Erin was she was a dead ringer for my good friend Sarah. She had on jeans, some brown lugs. A puffy mountain jacket and overall looking laid back and relaxed. This made me super happy because I knew Virginia would love her.

At Virginia's age they mainly do Play Therapy. So she played with puzzles, books, cups, play food, and Mr. Potato Head. All the time saying the words of the objects and trying to get Virginia to say the word along with her. She also had Virginia hold her hand up to her throat to feel how your throat moves when you say words. Virginia did great at copying Erin and did manage to say a few new sounds. I was super excited as a Mom watching my daughter achieve new goals.

Virginia was a huge fan of Mr. Potato Head. I mean she was not about to let Mr. Potato Head out of her site. She hugged him and patted his head. We tried everything to get her to ignore Mr. Potato Head and move on to the next play thing. It was a no go. Finally as she was playing with the cups I had to play Bad Mommy and scoop Mr. Potato Head away into Erin's bag. As soon as he was out of sight. You could see the panic in Virginia's face. She was looking every where. Tears were forming and the water works were on full blast. I have never seen Virginia get so worked up over a toy. I felt so bad and Erin did too. Thankfully it was towards the end and Erin was leaving. I promised Erin this wouldn't be her exit every time. I may need to tell Erin for Mr. Potato Head to go on vacation or maybe Mr. Potato Head will be hopping in the Mazda on Reiggin's way home.

Overall I can't wait to see Virginia's progress as she takes speech. I am super excited that Erin is a perfect match for Virginia and for me. So stay tuned and who knows by the end of the summer Virginia may be leaving you a message.