Cody's Speech Therapy

Cody recently had his final evaluation for speech therapy. He had gone to two sessions to see if he qualified for services through the public school system. In the first session, the pathologist asked him to say a bunch of single syllable words like "sit" "go" and "top". Then she held up a book of pictures and asked him questions like, "Where are HER shoes? If he's all wet, what does it look like outside?" He did okay, except she had to bribe him with fruit snacks. Hey Cody, can you say "ADHD?" The second session was the expressive section, where I thought he would have a hard time. She asked questions like, "Fire is hot, and ice is...." or "If I'm sick, what should I do?" He knew the "sick" question because he's quite the hypochondriac! He answered with, "Medicine!" But for most of the other questions he was clueless. I thought, "YES!" he is going to totally qualify now! But NO! He had to be in the 7th percentile to qualify! He was in the 20th percentile, which is still low, but not low enough! I guess I feel better that he didn't have to have special classes, but the state qualifications seem ridiculously low. The speech pathologist thought he was progressing nicely (since she had seen his evaluation from when he was 2 yrs., 9 months), and said we should continue to work with him at home by saying words often, without turning it into a lesson. Like when he asks for "Hot chachi", we should say, "Oh, you would like some HOT CHOCO-LATE?, Okay, I will get you some HOT CHOCO-LATE!", instead of saying "No, it's HOT CHOCOLATE." She said they learn from hearing it more than being told how to say it.

Cody has come a long way since we've moved to San Jose. He used to say, "Doh" for "cookie" back in June. Now he can say it fine. He's starting to put sentences together better. I know we just have to keep his own progress separate from the other kids his age (Bryce and Haley)! Bryce can count really fast and talks like an eight year old! And Haley... she tried to have a conversation with Cody, but kept having to say, "WHAT?... wait what?" And don't get me started on little Einstein Brandon! He's reading at four! Hey Cody, let's call Brandon for a playdate! Speaking of socializing, everyone thinks pre-school will help Cody along with his speech (I just wanted to get his speech evaluations out of the way first), so we've been potty training since last week. That's a whoooole 'nother entry in itself!