Hope for Gladys and Family

Gladys,
I have read your posts about your nephew. I can give you and your family the hope that I wish someone had given me several years ago. I can tell you that boys for one are usually late when it comes to speech development. When I tried getting my son help at the age of two, I was told he was fine and there was nothing wrong with him.
My son could not say anything until after the age of 3 years and 3 months. We took him to several pediatric neurologists. Of course we never were given an exact diagnosis, but we went with a language impairment label so we could get him speech therapy. He has been in speech therapy ever since. It has certainly done him a world of good. Early intervention is the key when it comes to helping a child with any sort of disability.

When a child is unable to communicate verbally, they become very frustrated. He/she will tend to have tantrums because he/she is unable to express himself. There are two forms of communcation...expressive, what a child is able to say and receptive, what a child is able to understand. Does your nephew seem to understand what is being said to him? Has your nephew had his hearing and sight tested? Sometimes there are underlying problems.

Don't believe in just one doctor's diagnosis. Start him in speech therapy now and he will continue to improve with time. Sometimes I think doctors grasp at straws when it comes to diagnosing young children.

My son also had and still has difficulty with making eye contact. Despite all the negative things we have been told about our child over the years we've done everything we could to invest in our child and believe in him. We were given little hope for our son and told he would always be a special needs child. Well, I am happy to report that he has never been in special education because he had teachers willing to go the extra mile for him.

My wonderful son is currently in the 7th grade. He is a straight "A" student. He is socially immature for his age and very innocent. He has trouble with common sense and inferential skills but has the most beautiful spirt. Mostly everyone who comes in contact with my son only has great things to say about him. His teachers have never had a student who puts as much effort as he does into everything he attempts. He excells at Math and Science, yet struggles with written composition which is understandable due to his language impairment.

It has not been an easy road and I've had very little support through the years, but every ounce of energy I have expended and invested into my child has paid off in a big way.. My son has come a long way and yet has far to go, but the most important thing is to remember there is hope and anything is possible.

I take my son's report cards to the Elementary School he attended and they are so proud to see how well he is doing. I tell everyone when he graduates from High School we will have the celebration. For now we celebrate each success and embrace our child for who he is.

Please tell your nephew's family to not give up and tell them there is help and most of all hope. My child is who he is today because there were people other than myself who believed in him.

I send you and your family hope and love.

SBC