Had a follow-up SLP assessment. The upshot was: differential development is causing some problems, erm, and that's probably why you got sent to us last time, we just couldn't tell 'cause we ignored half of what you said.
This is very good on one hand, because they saw his ability this time. Bad in a bigger-picture way, because if differential development was causing *problems* by 19 mos, uh...
If the problems being caused by frustration caused by average articulation and really-not-so-average language persist another 3 mos, we're supposed to go back, but I'm not sure we need a generalist SLP if what we need to do is get a 2 yr old to speak as easily and clearly as a 4yr old just to keep him from frustrating himself into silence. And I don't really know how to go about, well, any kind of anything. <sigh>
Do we try and get his body to match his understanding? That sounds like some serious pushing of a poor lil toddler-body. Do we let him just experience the frustration & find his own coping strategies? Do we try and discuss coping strategies with him in hopes of getting him to a better one rather than a worse one? Do we find some other middle path?
(he's 2&1/4, language skills assessed at double that, I think it could be a somewhat conservative estimate, since he clued in early that she just wasn't hearing a lot of what he said, and simplified for her, dropping adjectives, figurative speech, and sticking to topics directly related to the toys she had out -- he also clearly recognised her and remembered what she'd been interested in last time)
I don't even know if I'm looking for advice, or if I'm just needing to talk. Ok... I *am* looking for advise, I just dispair of there being any easy answeres!
-Mich
