Proud of You!

For most of the population, correct speech formation comes naturally, but Owen has had to work long and hard for every consonant sound he's learned. He's had countless speech therapy sessions, starting before he was three years old, from a total of three different agencies. Two years ago, he had a pharyngeal flap surgery to help reduce his nasal air escape. It has not been easy, and he has not always been willing, but sometimes you have to reflect on where you've come from to appreciate where you are!

We are so proud of him for mastering the "K" and "G" sounds! It's been a long time coming. He was promised a new Leapster game when it happened. That was not a forgotten promise by any of us, and when the sounds started slipping out of his mouth, his request became very specific--a "Racecars" Leapster game. He got his game on Friday morning.

Before we bought the reward, he said lovingly in my ear, "Mom, I'm so proud of you and Dad for getting me a new Leapster game."

Answers!

Owen's appointment at Children's Hospital in Birmingham was satisfactory; we have some answers about his speech development.

Owen has velopharyngeal insufficiency. His soft palate does not hit the back of his throat and form a tight seal, a maneuver necessary to build up oral pressure to produce consonants. As a result, he has severely hypernasal speech, where the amount of air escaping through his nose as he talks is off the charts.

Dr. Wiatrak told us that without a pharyngeal flap surgery, Owen's speech would not improve. This surgery involves cutting a flap from the back of the throat and stitching it to the soft palate, leaving a little room on either side so the nose is not totally closed off from the throat. After the surgery is performed and all the swelling goes down, he will need intensive speech therapy.

It's what we were suspecting, and now we know for sure. We'll schedule the surgery for after the baby arrives, since the first available surgery date was during my 37th week of pregnancy! Imagine that...

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Owen's big day in Birmingham, where he meets with a speech pathologist for the first time, and with his ENT again. We've begun the prep work, telling him whom he's going to see, what they will look at, and what's expected of him--plus a little coaching on behavioral and cooperative standards, with the reassurance that there will be treats. Historically, he has done very well for doctors, but I'm concerned about this visit, because it will be more involved than opening up and saying AHHHH.

I've noticed that the words and sentences he is able to say have gotten very sloppy lately. I'm working with him to clean up his vowels and pronounce words correctly that he has the ability to pronounce. The first time I worked with him, he shook his head at me and said, "I don't want Mrs. Wendy!" referring to his speech therapist. I think what he meant was, "Shove off, mom, and leave my talking alone."

Owen's Big Day

Happy Birthday, Aunt Les! Owen made his first stinky in the potty today. I would consider that a fine birthday present.

I feel like we've had a week and a half's worth of living in 2 1/2 days. Monday was monumental for Owen, as he saw a new pediatric ENT in Birmingham (a 3-hour drive one-way). Owen's speech has not been progressing, and we think there may be an issue that would require surgery, worst-case scenario. It was a comfort to us that Dr. Wiatrak has seen cases similar to Owen's and knew what to do next, because we have seen two ENTs in Mobile who couldn't help us. He is sending us to a speech pathologist that he works with all the time, and he will see us again that same day. We'll be able to tell from their imaging techniques what is really going on inside Owen's mouth, and whether he will need intense therapy, surgery or both. Unfortunately for Owen, it will involve a scope. He usually does very well on doctor visits, but he might protest that maneuver.
Along Jack Springs Road in Atmore. It was a beautiful day. Owen engaged his tractor's turn signal when we made turns, and hollered, "Blinker! Blinker! Blinker!"
We stopped along the way, and tried to make it a fun day. Here's Owen checking out the Auburn merchandise at Priester's Pecans along I-65. This little bear played the fight song, and then said, "War Eagle!"Sampling chocolate is what we do best.

Waiting for Mommy at Priester's.
The slide at McDonald's. We're going there for supper tonight again, thanks to Owen dropping a #2 in the can.
Dr. Wiatrak's waiting room had one of the best toys I've ever seen--the cars were operated by a magnet from underneath.
He finally fell asleep at 5:00 on the way home.


Jason tried to get a picture of this famous sign on North I-65. The final phrase, obscured by the guardrail, reads, "or the devil will get you." Makes you wonder how many people have gotten saved as a result?
A present for our baby, found at Priester's. Gotta start 'em young!
And a present for myself. I found it on clearance for $5.00. I had seen similar bowls at Wrapables when I ordered a shower curtain last year. It just makes me smile.
Since we started yesterday with Owen's potty training, I suppose I should be eating every meal out of this bowl.

Rude Noises

Yesterday and today Owen finally figured out how to hold air in his mouth and "spit" it out noisily, and he's been entertaining all of us in the house, in the car, at the table, and playing in the livingroom. We're just so proud of ourselves. He's been spurting water like this in the tub for a long time, but couldn't do it with air until now. I feel like calling his speech therapist and breaking out in celebration. We've got a long way to go, but finally a start! Tonight I walked into Owen's room while his daddy was putting him to bed. "He's making rude noises during prayer, and I don't even care!" Jason announced.

His speech therapist, Mrs. Stafford, or Mrs. Wendy because it's easier to say, comes every week. So far sessions have been less than great, mostly due to a certain little someone's attitude. Mrs. Wendy brings lots of fun stuff to do, but Mr. Owen likes to do anything but what she brings. We've been working and working on P and B sounds, and all the little mechanics that go into them. Put your lips together!

Owen's pretty solid on H, M, N and a little on W, all sounds that require very little effort. We're trying to get a referral to a different ENT who would be able to evaluate his palate, but so far haven't had good luck getting an appointment with the one of our choice. We really don't know what is going on with his oral mechanics, so I find myself in a hard spot with the speech therapy. How much progress is he capable of achieving, how much is he just refusing to cooperate, and how hard do we push him?

On a different note, we had Jason's family Christmas yesterday. I got some treasures, I tell ya! My sis in law is quite crafty, and made some matching earrings for Jan and me. I'm thinking about asking her for a coordinating necklace for my birthday. If you're having trouble seeing the picture, Les passed over the fancy beads and chose useful bobby pins instead.