Many people claim that boys tend to talk later than girls, which initially led me to accept my son’s speech delays as normal. However, as I watched children younger than my 18-month-old son effortlessly string together sentences, I began to feel a mix of confusion and envy. These seemingly gifted toddlers proudly identified colors and numbers, while I sat in silence, grappling with my emotions as friends shared anecdotes of their little ones’ verbal triumphs.
I persisted in reading to him, even when he seemed disinterested, and I echoed every sound he made. I introduced baby sign language and allowed him to turn the pages of our storybooks, hoping he would soak in the words through osmosis. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work.
During a routine check-up, our pediatrician recommended that we seek help through Early Intervention’s (EI) state services. This connected us with a remarkable team of therapists at 606 Speech in Chicago, who diagnosed my son with an isolated speech delay.
As he grew older, his frustration became increasingly apparent. He would scream and cry, and in moments of extreme distress, he would stiffen his body, declaring war against the idea of leaving the park. This became his only way of asserting himself, and all of us—parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles—felt the weight of his struggle to communicate. Every child deserves to be heard, and it was heart-wrenching to see our son struggle for his voice.
Despite attending therapy sessions twice a week, progress felt agonizingly slow. I found myself resenting those tedious speech exercises. I didn’t want to pressure my boy into blowing a whistle or repeating sounds before he was ready. I longed for carefree moments with him, and I questioned whether my work schedule, my genetics, or even the sleep training methods we employed had contributed to his delays.
However, gradually, my son began to imitate almost everything he heard. By the time he was two and a half, he started forming sentences and even pretended to read. My friends and family were right; his vocabulary blossomed rapidly.
Eventually, he became adept at expressing his desires verbally. Nowadays, I often find myself listening in amusement as he animatedly converses with his friends. It’s hard to believe that he ever faced speech challenges. Watching his confidence flourish brings me immense joy. Now, he’s so eager to practice that it’s a challenge to keep him from spilling chocolate milk all over our floor.
This journey has taught me about resilience and the importance of finding one’s voice. Life will undoubtedly present challenges, but I hope he will always possess the courage to try again.
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Summary:
This article shares a mother’s experience navigating her son’s speech delay, the emotional challenges she faced, and the eventual triumph of finding his voice. Through therapy and persistence, he blossomed into a confident communicator, highlighting the importance of resilience in parenting.