In Da Hood
Young families are once again taking over our neighborhood. The laughter of children playing has replaced the resounding quiet of 13 years ago when we moved into our home.
I welcome the noise.
The Boy and K, the almost three year old girl from right next door, play together almost daily. We have no fences in the front of our houses, so they run freely between the two homes.
K doesn't speak.
I asked about it once, only after her mother brought the subject up. Her pediatrician isn't worried, she said. K is just a late bloomer. I smiled and agreed to that possibility.
But, I'm not so sure I agree. K has a one year old sister who will soon surpass her vocabulary. K only speaks when she's prompted, and even then she is difficult to understand. She doesn't put words together at all. She doesn't appear to fully process language that is spoken to her, either. Twice in the last week I have seen her break down in tears with frustration when her dad tried to get her to talk to me.
I know it would be hard to come to grips with the possibility that your child has a developmental delay. No parent wants to face that. Wouldn't it be best, though, to get intervention early? To seek out a second opinion? To take matters into your own hands before your child breaks out in tears with frustration?
It breaks my heart. I can't intrude. It's not my place.
In the meantime, The Boy doesn't even seem to notice. She is his best friend. To be able to look past imperfections is to be the best kind of friend.
I welcome the noise.
The Boy and K, the almost three year old girl from right next door, play together almost daily. We have no fences in the front of our houses, so they run freely between the two homes.
K doesn't speak.
I asked about it once, only after her mother brought the subject up. Her pediatrician isn't worried, she said. K is just a late bloomer. I smiled and agreed to that possibility.
But, I'm not so sure I agree. K has a one year old sister who will soon surpass her vocabulary. K only speaks when she's prompted, and even then she is difficult to understand. She doesn't put words together at all. She doesn't appear to fully process language that is spoken to her, either. Twice in the last week I have seen her break down in tears with frustration when her dad tried to get her to talk to me.
I know it would be hard to come to grips with the possibility that your child has a developmental delay. No parent wants to face that. Wouldn't it be best, though, to get intervention early? To seek out a second opinion? To take matters into your own hands before your child breaks out in tears with frustration?
It breaks my heart. I can't intrude. It's not my place.
In the meantime, The Boy doesn't even seem to notice. She is his best friend. To be able to look past imperfections is to be the best kind of friend.
posted by Well-heeled mom @ 9:34 AM
3 Comments:
At 12:10 PM,
Not-So-Normal-Mom said…
My youngest rarely spoke until about six months ago(he's three) and now he won't be quiet. For us, it was because he had two older brothers who spoke for him constantly, and he didn't feel the need to talk. Now I can't get him to be quiet! Not that I'm saying the parents shouldn't question their pediatrician (we did), but it seems that they have already done that. Maybe she is just a late bloomer, you never know. It is wonderful that she and the Boy are friends. Maybe spoken language isn't the only way to communicate after all!
At 1:34 PM,
DD said…
If she can express her frustration that she isn't being understood, then yes, her parents should get a second opinion. There's nothing wrong with questioning your ped.
And even if she was a late bloomer, at this point, she will definitely need speech therapy to get her caught up.
Unfortunately, what more can you do without worrying about hurting the child's parent's feelings? Children are wonderful. They can bridge those gaps of communication that we sometimes cannot.
At 4:54 PM,
Anonymous said…
Oh this post brought me back to my childhood. My little brothers didn't learn to speak for such the long time (they are twins). My parents definitely intervened early, and even so it took years of speech therapy and special resource classes before they were on an even field with their peers. That poor little girl... She's lucky to have your boy as her friend.
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