Speech Therapy Graduate!

Back in the early spring, we had Karina evaluated for speech.  She was very hard to understand, and we weren't sure if we should just give her time, or if she needed some help.  Her evaluation came back that she wasn't using about half the sounds out there, and didn't use any blends (putting two consonants in a row, like sh or tr) at all!  That would explain why she was so hard to understand!  We knew her code (i.e.. K was said D, Th was said F, R was said W, etc) but even still we hard a hard time sorting out her meaning at times (instead of "Karina", she would say "Do-rena"), and other people often had no idea what she was saying.  

So, speech therapy began!  Usually the child goes back, by themselves, with the therapist.  But, because Karina is not super keen on new people and new experiences, combined with the fact that our children seem to move as a pack, we ALL attended speech every week: Mommy, Eliana, Karina, and Gabriel!

The therapist had all sorts of board games and activities, and to earn a turn, Karina would have to say some word or sound or sentence that she was currently working on.  It was funny to watch, because she very quickly caught on, and would switch into "speech mode", and start enunciating all sounds very clearly.  She was a quick study, and the therapist said that she had never seen a kid so young make so much headway so quickly!

This fall, the therapist said that there wasn't really anything left for her to work on with Karina!  The sounds she is still missing (th and r) aren't considered "late" until the kid is 7 or 9, so...she is done!  Karina was so very pleased to be done, and for weeks afterwards told everyone that she "graduated from speech therapy!"  Good job, Karina!