In October 2008 I took S to a pediatric neurologist because of our concerns over her delayed communication skills--she has always met or exceeded the age-appropriate milestones for talking or number of words a child should have. However, there are several things that are not what they should be--such as the fact that she doesn't answer questions with a "yes" or "no", rather she repeats what you asked her. She rarely initiates a request for anything, and when she does, it is also in the form of a question you would ask her--for example, if she was thirsty she would come to me (occasionally) and say, "Do you want something to drink?" All day long she can and does repeat songs, Bible verses, lines from story books and responses we have taught her, but there is almost no spontaneous interaction. All that to say, the physician tentatively diagnosed her with Asperger's syndrome, which, simplistically defined, is like a form of high-functioning autism in the area of social interaction. S also has weak core muscle strength and weak fine motor strength. Thus, we have now begun speech therapy and occupational therapy. All of the therapy is play-based, so that it is as enjoyable as possible for the kids. Some of the things the speech therapist has us working on are imaginary play, and emphasizing concepts like verbs ("Look, S, the dog is running,") and prepositions ("Can you put the box under the table?) The occupational therapist spends half an hour working on fine motor strength skills (like pinching or pulling apart playdough) and half an hour working on core muscle strength--the swing S is on below is helping her hold herself up and also grip the ropes.
So far, we really like the therapists, and I'm also thankful to be an occupational therapist with at least some knowledge of what the OT is doing and why (even though my area of specialization wasn't pediatrics.) You don't think God had that planned out ahead of time, do you?? (wink, wink) We'll let you know how things progress!
