I heard something today that made so much sense that I just have to share it. Children's attention span is so short that it's often limited to the time that it takes to say three words. Think about it. As parents, our entire day is spent speaking in three word sentences.
Don't do that!
Don't touch that!
Don't eat that!
Stop hitting Kevin!
I said NO!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Where are you?
Stop that NOW!
Stop kicking Sarah!
Listen to me!
Just do it!
Quit licking me!
Where's my phone?
Quit interrupting me!
Eat your food!
I mean it!
Some days feel very long because, if I'm home alone with the kids, every conversation is rapid-fire and doesn't make a lot of sense. Sometimes people ask me why we don't speak more Spanish at the house. I answer them by saying that, honestly, I don't have time. I don't have the time to translate things into Spanish, since everything that I say has to be done quickly and in three words or less.
That's my life.
It's pretty weird.
Loud and frantic.
All day long.
What's yours like?
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Fish Oil
Because this is supposed to officially be a blog to track Kevin's progress, I feel as if I need to mention the newest thing that I'm trying with him. Two days ago, I started Kevin on fish oil supplements.
It seems like when I research apraxia of speech online, I keep coming across the idea that fish oil supplements may help. Basically, the idea is that fish oil is something that we all should include in our diet, but don't. Or we don't include it enough. Fish oil contains high concentrates of Omega 3 and Omega 6. Some foods that have high amounts of this are fish, flaxseed, almonds, broccoli, and others.
The Omega 3s and 6s basically add a little fatty deposit on the brain connections, insulating them. I'm honestly not too sure of how this all works, but some people swear that it has helped their kids tremendously. Others claim that it has made little or no difference at all. Fish oil is supposed to be good for a variety of physical and neurological conditions.
I would like to try to include more fish oil in our diet. However, I personally don't like fish too much! I'm going to try to do a little bit more of it, though! Also, I've been sprinkling flaxseed on sandwiches, etc. But, the main thing that I'm doing is giving Kevin a fish oil supplement every day. Apparently the taste of fish oil is pretty nasty. What I got for him is a kid's version of fish oil. It's supposed to have a berry flavor. He still won't take it straight, though. But if I put it in his apple juice, he eventually gets it all down. I've already talked to his therapist and told her what we will be trying. Now we just have to wait and see if it makes any difference!
It seems like when I research apraxia of speech online, I keep coming across the idea that fish oil supplements may help. Basically, the idea is that fish oil is something that we all should include in our diet, but don't. Or we don't include it enough. Fish oil contains high concentrates of Omega 3 and Omega 6. Some foods that have high amounts of this are fish, flaxseed, almonds, broccoli, and others.
The Omega 3s and 6s basically add a little fatty deposit on the brain connections, insulating them. I'm honestly not too sure of how this all works, but some people swear that it has helped their kids tremendously. Others claim that it has made little or no difference at all. Fish oil is supposed to be good for a variety of physical and neurological conditions.
I would like to try to include more fish oil in our diet. However, I personally don't like fish too much! I'm going to try to do a little bit more of it, though! Also, I've been sprinkling flaxseed on sandwiches, etc. But, the main thing that I'm doing is giving Kevin a fish oil supplement every day. Apparently the taste of fish oil is pretty nasty. What I got for him is a kid's version of fish oil. It's supposed to have a berry flavor. He still won't take it straight, though. But if I put it in his apple juice, he eventually gets it all down. I've already talked to his therapist and told her what we will be trying. Now we just have to wait and see if it makes any difference!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
A quick update
Life is so busy. I often wish that I had more time to do extra things, such as updating a blog! Usually, though, I find myself just trying to keep up with what things are absolutely necessary, such as the never-ending laundry pile, potty training adventures, mountains of dishes, and trying to teach my kids right from wrong. However, I will take a few minutes tonight to give everyone a quick update on Kevin's speech.
We've been in speech therapy for 3 months now. The therapist feels that we'll be in speech therapy for probably another 3-4 years. The homework that she's sending home is getting progressively more difficult. We've been encouraging Kevin to attempt some 2 syllable words, along with some basic two word combinations.
He still says "Bah," "Dah," "Wah," and "Lah" a lot. However, we're gradually seeing some other sounds and words creeping into his vocabulary. Off and on, he will say basic words that are understandable to me and his dad.
Some examples of some of his two syllable words are:
"Tato" when he wants to play with Mr. Potato head
"Wahwah" for water
"Tay-Tay" for Tee-tee (we're potty training, remember?)
"Weh-Wuh" for Sarah
"Mah-meh" for Mommy and "Dah-deh" for Daddy
"Dora!"--his celebrity crush
"PahPah" for iPod
"Dahdoo" for thank you
Etc.
You can see in this video that he's getting more fluent with putting syllables together. Before starting speech, he would only make one syllable sounds. His therapist started with one syllable words, then two, and now we're trying 3. Even though he can't really pronounce the words yet, repeating the words over and over is ear training. If you listen closely to the video, you can hear differences in his vowel sounds and some variations in the consonants.
Slow and steady, steady and slow. That's the way we always go!
We've been in speech therapy for 3 months now. The therapist feels that we'll be in speech therapy for probably another 3-4 years. The homework that she's sending home is getting progressively more difficult. We've been encouraging Kevin to attempt some 2 syllable words, along with some basic two word combinations.
He still says "Bah," "Dah," "Wah," and "Lah" a lot. However, we're gradually seeing some other sounds and words creeping into his vocabulary. Off and on, he will say basic words that are understandable to me and his dad.
Some examples of some of his two syllable words are:
"Tato" when he wants to play with Mr. Potato head
"Wahwah" for water
"Tay-Tay" for Tee-tee (we're potty training, remember?)
"Weh-Wuh" for Sarah
"Mah-meh" for Mommy and "Dah-deh" for Daddy
"Dora!"--his celebrity crush
"PahPah" for iPod
"Dahdoo" for thank you
Etc.
You can see in this video that he's getting more fluent with putting syllables together. Before starting speech, he would only make one syllable sounds. His therapist started with one syllable words, then two, and now we're trying 3. Even though he can't really pronounce the words yet, repeating the words over and over is ear training. If you listen closely to the video, you can hear differences in his vowel sounds and some variations in the consonants.
Slow and steady, steady and slow. That's the way we always go!
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