Speech Therapy and Life in General

I've had several people ask me lately how Rowan is doing with his speech, so I thought I'd better get going and do a blog update. When school started, we had to reduce Rowan's therapy down to two sessions a week (One session speech therapy and one session Occupational therapy). Over the summer he had four sessions, two of each, because I wasn't working and could spend longer driving him. At first we were not quite sure about how he would do with 4:30 therapy times, coming off of a long day at daycare and not having eaten dinner, but he seems to be doing fine with it.

In speech, they have been working with Rowan on 2-3 word phrases instead of single word. With a little practice, he can do it. Sometimes, however, the words blend together. He has started to string more words together at home, and we are hearing a lot more words than we were hearing even just a month or two ago. Some common phrases heard around our house are "Ian, bop it!" (Ian, stop it), Rowan do it, I want it, Cleo No, Mommy Elmo on... Lots more than he was saying over the summer. Of course most recently we worked on Trick Or Treat.

In OT, Rowan works on fine motor skills and balance. He does really well with the tasks he is given. One thing to overcome is asking mom or dad for help all the time. A few months ago, he wanted nothing to do with coloring or drawing. Now his favorite toy is his Magna Doodle drawing toy, and he will sit for a long time drawing "pictures". He tells us he is drawing Cleo, Happy (smile face), eyes and nose, buzz, and whatever else is on his mind. He has also taken a liking to his Elmo coloring book.

When the speech therapist and early childhood teacher from Shakopee schools did his six month review recently, he had shown significant progress in their help charts.
Starting when he turns 3 in February, Rowan can start going to an "early threes" preschool that focuses heavily on speaking and language development.

So, we are excited about all the progress he is making.

As for the big kid in the family, he is gearing up for two exciting events. Deer season next weekend...hoping to get another big buck. And the Shakopee High School performance of OKLAHOMA, which Ian is a part of the Pit Band (The YOUNGEST member and only 8th grader). Ian has also joined ski club that starts in January. I just can't believe he is about to turn 14. Geez!