We knew early on that our little bug was a laid-back kid.  As she approached 2 and started the terrible 2s the frustration began - the poor girl wasn't talking much and couldn't express her, so we didn't know what she wanted.  We started getting concerned about her talking, as her vocabulary wasn't building very quickly.  Of course we always compared her to Chandler, who was speaking in full sentences before she was 2.

At her 2 year-old check-up she scored in the "yellow (watch)" area for communication, and we had been talking to our parent educator (Mrs. Pam) about her progress.  We decided to get her evaluated to see if she qualified for speech therapy.  It seemed like an easy decision, but as I was filling out the mounds of paperwork and watching the initial evaluation it hit me.  What if she is labeled "special needs"?

I had numerous people say to me, "Oh she's just the young one.  She has 2 older sisters that talk for her.  She's fine.  Don't worry."  Bu this wasn't the case.  They weren't talking for her.  And why not worry?  Why not get her the help she may need?  As a teacher I had a student whose family refused to "test" their child, even though he needed the help desperately.  His parents didn't want the label.  Therefore he suffered and struggled throughout school.  Why are we, as parents, so scared of the label?  Why don't we just think of our child's best interests?  It's not about us....it's about them!  It's ok to worry about your child's progress, and it's ok to admit if there's concerns.  It doesn't reflect on us as bad parents, but rather as parents committed to helping our kids succeed.

A week before the thorough eval Ady's vocabulary started picking up again.  This time she started putting up to 5 words together, so I was fairly confident she wouldn't qualify for services.  We went through the process, and it turns out she's a few months behind in her speech, but nothing too concerning.  The best part of the eval was when we were leaving and she gave the evaluator a hug.  That made me more proud of her than any word combination she could've made!