Where one door closes, another opens...

Alex's speech is developing beautifully, and he's doing so well recently at remembering to use his ending sounds such as /s/ (horse) and /k/ (book) and /t/ (hat), all on his own in spontaneous speech! This is major progress, yet he still has far to go on this journey. I would say at this point, strangers only understand anywhere from 40-50% of what he is saying, where at this age, they should be understanding pretty close to 100%. I am trying to stay positive as we continue this long road of rehabilitation. It is, however, a blessing that we, his family, are understanding so much more of what he is saying in our normal everyday setting. It is so encouraging to be able to understand his needs and wants. He has such a sweet disposition and cute sense of humor. I am so proud of my sweet sweet boy for all of the hard work he's done to get this far.

It has also been a great blessing to have had such wonderful people in Alex's life, such as our current speech therapist, Miss Kate, who is very dear to our hearts, and has been an important part of our lives for the past year. It has been a privilege to know her and we are so thankful for her support and encouragement through this journey. We find it time to say goodbye to her as she moves on to help other children in the school system, who very much need the dedication, patience and love that Kate has to offer in her line of work. We will miss her terribly, but we have hope and trust that God has placed us in the hands of another wonderful speech therapist. We will meet her tomorrow in therapy. I have learned that each new therapist that has worked with Alex has had something to "bring to the table" so to speak, so instead of being discouraged and frightened about the changes this will bring in Alex's therapy plan, we are trying to stay positive that this will be another wonderful experience in the time line of Alex's Journey with Apraxia. Where one door closes, another opens...