Therapy

Today, Hank's speech therapist came for her first real visit. She's been here twice before, but they weren't teaching sessions. The first visit was to evaluate his abilities, and see if he is eligible for early intervention. Hank's communication skills are currently at about a 13-15 month level (he's currently 22 months old). The therapist's 2nd visit was to make a "game plan" with me and Tyler. We talked about different times of day and activities that frustrate Henry and made clear goals for what we'd like him to be doing in about 6 months.
I've found the whole therapy process to be pretty stressful. Finding time to meet with the therapist is hard, and when I admit that it's not easy, I feel like a 'bad mom' who isn't putting her kids needs first. Plus, I love/ hate the visits. I'm glad that we're getting Henry the help he needs. I'm glad when there is a game plan and I can see Henry making progress. I love seeing Henry learn new things and he seems to enjoy the therapy. I hate being reminded of what he's not doing yet, and going over and over what he can't do. Also, the boys seem to know when the therapist is coming and make the BIGGEST MESSES! This morning Mack decided to "pretend to make oatmeal" while I was still sleeping. Translation: He filled both sides of the sink with oatmeal and water. Last time the therapist came, Hank threw a big cup of milk on the floor as she knocked on the door. Milk on the table, milk on the floor, milk on the chairs, milk on the lamp, milk on the wall. Not exactly calming, or the image I'd like to project to a stranger coming into my house to "evaluate" us.
 One of the things I really like about his speech therapy is that it is realistic. I hate it can't stand it when people tell me, "That's how boys are" or "This kid I know didn't talk at all until he was 2" or "I think he talks great" or "He just said....." or "I understand him great" or "Kids don't need therapy til they're in school".  I know people mean well, but I I think they're wrong. I'm his MOM. I know what he can or cannot do, and I know what he needs. He needs this therapy. The goals we set with this therapist are for SIX months from now. That's May, and it feels like forever, but it's much more realistic than saying he's just going to wake up tomorrow and start jabbering.
Anyway, back to today's visit... It went well. Henry made some new sounds, and I learned some more ways to encourage him to keep trying other new consonant sounds. He was happy the whole time and seemed to really like the therapist. He signed "me" and appeared engaged. Hank doesn't really make many consonant sounds and therefore has a really limited vocabulary.  I learned a few ways to put some added emphasis on the where in my mouth particular sounds are coming from. I also realized I need to make specific time to work on different sounds with Henry and not just squeeze it into our regular playtime. Play-dough seems to work well for this because it keeps him sitting in one place and happy.
I'm sorta looking forward to next week's session.