following up on speech and my mushmouthed boys

So.

Because I was inspired/cheered on by people's comments on my HDYDI post about the boys' speech, I wrote the intervention coordinator today to see what was going on.

You know, I don't mind being assertive about my kids when I have to be, but I guess I feel guilty because it takes me so long to do everything. I imagine the people I'm nagging following up with thinking, "Your failure to plan ahead does not make this an emergency," or whatever that coffee mug slogan is.

And I have a very positive impression of the district's special education team. Everyone has been helpful, kind, and quick to respond (once the problem of our cases being filed improperly was corrected). I don't want to add frustration to what must be a frustrating job.

But anyway...

I wrote an email to ask whether the boys had been assessed by the speech/language therapist last week, and whether there was anything I ought to be doing.

And the boys had been assessed last week! I'd been upfront with the boys about how someone would come talk to them and listen to how they talk, because we want to help people understand them the first time, but their teacher told them the woman was there to learn about their preschool, so the boys didn't think enough of it to tell me.

And the intervention coordinator is writing up a report for us, and said they don't suspect the boys of having any disabilities, but we scheduled a meeting to go over planned speech and social-emotional/behavioral interventions next Friday.

And even better, the boys two houses down from us have a new babysitter, and she is a speech therapist and works with children with other challenges as well. And she is looking for additional hours.

And she convinced Phe to try to say his "L" sound for a while even after she showed him how to make it. He was trying to say, "Wall-E," which he pronounces, "Wah-yee." He came running out to show me something he'd found that reminded him of Wall-E the robot, and he struggled a few times, then said, "Wah-LEE," stretching his tongue all the way to the front of his top teeth, where they meet his gums. I was surprised, because 1) the boys don't struggle/make any attempt to pronounce things differently, and 2) I hadn't witnessed the exchange with the babysitter, where she showed him how to make the L sound.

Totally awesome.

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I am working like crazy this week, so I apologize for all your posts that I haven't commented on.