The bad news is....I am (apparently) a bad parent. One of the questions that they ask for development at 2 years is if he has 50 words. Q has about 10 at this point and he doesn't put any of them together. He tries to say things, but nothing even remotely like the word comes out. He can sing the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle without a single letter or word coming out, but he has the tune down pat. So, I asked the doctor for a referral to an ENT. We thought that this was a good place to start because Quinn has a history (if you haven't noticed) of ear infections, Chris and his sister and her son have all had tubes, and the girls had surgery a couple of years ago to correct the attachment of their upper lips and tongue. Here's how it went down...
Me: I'd like to look into taking him to an ENT, just to be able to rule those problems out.
Dr: Does he take a pacifier?
Me: Really, only for naps and bedtimes.
Dr: Well, I won't even consider giving you a referral until he is completely off the pacifier. Pacifiers cause speech delays, ear infections and buck their teeth. You are not doing him any favors by giving him that pacifier.
Me: *dumbfounded, tail between legs* Ok.
Dr: And I wouldn't worry about his speech delay. Between the pacifier and the fact that he is the baby of the family - I'm sure his sisters are talking for him and that he has gotten comfortable with pointing and grunting - this is typical. Take that pacifier away from him and then we'll see how he is.
I seriously was in shock. The girls had their pacifiers until they were 2. They did not have a speech delay, ear infections or buck teeth. The plan is for the pacifier to be taken away completely this summer - but not while we were traveling and not while we have company this weekend. And while he does point and grunt, he also tries to say words and can't. He also does not imitate speech (like when we say, "Say 'thank you'", he says "unc unh".) the way that we feel he should.
Ugh. Just frustrated. And feeling like a terrible mother.
5 comments:
You are not a terrible mother! She is a terrible doctor! Find someone new!!!
It's time to kick this doctor to the curb....and I hope she reads your blog!!
This doctor does not know you or what goes on at your house. And she obviously doesn't know Q very well. And the fact that she doesn't trust you as the foremost expert on your child is unacceptable! You are an excellent mom!!!
Dr.'s are so frustrating sometimes!!
I have run a daycare in my home for 16 years so I have seen so many different speech issues. Parents are always worried about delays! I lucked into a great web-site that does a free assessment - speechtails.com - you should check it out. I subscribe to it now and my kiddos love it!!!! it has helped a bunch. I love being able to do something here to help( and so do the parents I work for!) Good Luck!
Nolan will be two next week and although he does have over 50 words he takes a pacifier and uses it more throughout the day then he used to... I think it is the family drama going on but my point is... the paci shouldn't slow anything really--my husband had his til 4, Trent had his til 2, and well Nolan still has his. Doctors can be irritating! You know what is best!
Post a Comment