Fox Valley Speech & Swallowing Center Long-Term Speech Therapy for Children: One Parent's Story With the birth of my daughter, Allison, I knew that I had been blessed with the most beautiful and smartest baby ever. Allison was right on target with all of her physical development. She was a happy child; so quiet and well-behaved. My husband and I would take our infant to church and to nice restaurants, and wonder why the other parents couldn't keep their babies quiet, too. I realize now this was one of the early warning signs. When Allison was nine months old she cooed and made some baby sounds, but still didn't have any "words." I spent hours trying to teach her "dada, dada, dada." It didn't work, but I guess this was the unofficial beginning of her speech therapy. As she approached eighteen months I became seriously concerned about her lack of speech development. There seemed to be a fine line between trying to let a child develop at her own pace and being an over- reactive mother. I had heard plenty of stories about children who didn't say a word until they were two, and then began to speak in complete sentences. There is a strong desire to believe that nothing is wrong with your child. I kept hoping that if I waited just a few more weeks . . . However, family history indicated that there could be a need for speech therapy. One of my brothers and I had both gone to speech therapy. I began to search for a professional opinion. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who is a speech pathologist. She commented that Allison was slow, but I didn't need to be alarmed yet. I spoke with our pediatrician. He patted me on the back and told me to just give her time. Still, the uneasy feeling persisted. Just after Allison's second birthday, my friend told me the time had come to be concerned. She wasn't hearing enough distinct sounds in Allison's babbling. She also confirmed what I had thought all along – early intervention is important. I consulted with our pediatrician again. He still strongly discouraged me from pursuing speech therapy until Allison was at least three years old. I called the school district. They wouldn't even look at her until after her third birthday. I had my daughter evaluated by Easter Seals and they recommended therapy, but said the waiting list was several months long. I also had my doubts about group therapy. I felt that she would most benefit from one-on-one therapy. Finally, my pediatrician gave me the name of somebody he recommended. Celeste Kobulnicky and I both vividly remember the day we first met. Allison was two and a half years old. She clung to my leg and cried. I was a mom who worked part time. There were many days when I had to leave as my children sobbed. It was never easy to endure the heartbreak, but I told Celeste that I would leave the room if that would give her a better chance to evaluate Allison. When Celeste and I spoke at the end of that session, I was very optimistic. I had finally found somebody who would help my daughter. I was eager for the miracle to begin. Some of the therapy even sounded fun, like blowing bubbles and sucking on thick milkshakes to strengthen the throat muscles. However, I also sensed that therapy wasn't going to be all fun and games. Celeste's first rule was that I had to get rid of Allison's pacifier. Did this lady realize what she was asking me to do? An hour later, as Allison and I playfully sucked down a chocolate shake at McDonald's, I knew we were headed in the right direction. The first few months of therapy were very rewarding. We learned that Allison was unable to control her air flow. Everything came out of her nose instead of her mouth. We spent a lot of time sensitizing her mouth and learning how to blow. While all of the other parents yelled at their children for blowing bubbles in their milk, we were the fun house. We had contests to see who could blow the most bubbles. Every day we spent some time on exercises for speech therapy. The image of my daughter trying to blow the fuzz off a dandelion on a summer afternoon will be forever etched in my memory. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't do it. All of the air would puff out her nose. But she was resourceful. She would just wave the dandelion in the wind until nothing but the empty stalk remained. I knelt down and explained that she couldn't avoid it - she needed to learn how to blow. This is a yardstick that I have used to measure Allison's progress. Now, as I watch her effortlessly blow dandelions like all of the other children, I say a little prayer of thanks. It was very rewarding to see little bits of progress as we went through each month of therapy. We had a lot of support from friends and family. Everybody commented on the changes they observed. We felt very lucky to have found a speech therapist who obviously had a deep personal concern about helping Allison. It was comforting to have somebody who knew what she was doing lead us through this crisis. While we were making progress, we still did not have an actual diagnosis of what caused Allison's problem. Celeste suspected a submucous cleft, and warned us that surgery might be a possibility. We started talking about having an evaluation by professionals at the University of Illinois-Chicago Medical Center. After six months of twice a week therapy sessions, I was beginning to get downhearted. Allison had definitely made progress, but things seemed to be moving so slowly. It was hard for me to find a babysitter for my son twice a week. Financially, this therapy was really getting expensive. I just wanted my daughter to be better – NOW. There were a lot of tears that week. It was one of the many times that Celeste was as much of a therapist for me as she was for Allison. At that point Celeste explained that even if we had surgery right away, Allison would still need long-term therapy. It was time to dig in my heels and start with a renewed attitude. It took a great effort for Allison to learn each sound. Often after spending several weeks on a sound, Allison would show her frustration. Then we would take a break and practice other sounds. We experienced peaks and valleys. There were times when Allison refused to cooperate and times when I just didn't feel like practicing. Often Celeste would use every method she knew to teach a sound, yet none of them would work for Allison. Still, the little victories continued to happen. The first Christmas after therapy began, Celeste and I surprised each other with identical tapes of Allison singing her first Christmas carols. I sent a copy to my sister who cried when she heard it. The following March Allison learned how to make the 'd' sound. She was 3 1/2 years old when she finally said, "Daddy." In May, Celeste decided that we were at last ready to have Allison examined at the University of Illinois Cranio-Facial Clinic. Allison had mastered enough of the sounds that would be used in the test, and she could make a continuous sound for more than 2 or 3 seconds. She was x-rayed, probed and thoroughly examined. She was such a trooper. We also had her meet with a psychologist. I had concerns that this speech impairment would negatively effect her self image. I knew that her inability to communicate with people outside her immediate family and friends was very frustrating for her. I felt like my heart was being ripped out every time a child at the playground laughed at the way she talked. I held her out of preschool the first year because I didn't want teachers or kids to label her as "stupid." I was afraid that her shyness, coupled with her speech problems, would cause her to become a loner. I wanted to protect my baby, but I also knew that I had to teach her to deal with these things in her own way. The diagnoses given to us that day were mostly encouraging. The psychologist said that she was at or above her age level in most areas. Physically, they could find nothing wrong with her. Surgery was not needed at this point. She was diagnosed with apraxia which is kind of a mystery. (My understanding is that it is a brain disorder which limits a person's ability to control some of the muscles that are needed for speech.) We were told just to continue with the same type of therapy that we had been doing. "Don't mess with success." We continued to meet twice a week. We celebrated birthdays and holidays. (Allison will be five years old shortly after the time of this writing.) She learned how to string words into phrases and sentences. The child who began with a voice so quiet that she couldn't be heard a few feet away has found her volume control. Now neighbors several houses away can hear her scream as she chases after her brother. Her ability to communicate means that she can sing and carry on a complete conversation. (She can also sass back to her parents!) To an outside observer, she sounds just like any other kid in her preschool class. It is an unbelievably good feeling to write that. We have worked very hard to get to this point, but there is still a way to go. Sometimes Allison talks too fast and she often needs to be reminded to pronounce her sounds correctly. Allison still has to learn how to swallow properly. We are working on cadence, so her sentences flow more smoothly. Her voice frequently sounds very nasal, so we are trying to understand how to help her control that. I have learned that speech therapy certainly includes a lot more than just learning how to pronounce sounds. I have come to realize that this is a painstakingly slow process, but these visits have become such a part of our lives, I wonder what I will do when I no longer have to schedule my day around our 1:00 appointment. I guess that I will just have a little bit more time to listen to my daughter, smile and think "We worked hard to achieve this." This brochure is also available in print. FVSSC HOME PAGE VOICE  |  ARTICULATION  |  STUTTERING  |  LANGUAGE  |  SWALLOWING SPECIAL FEATURES  |  OTHER SERVICES  |  LOCATION  |  BILLING  |  PERSONNEL © 2006, Fox Valley Speech and Swallowing Center, LLC - Specializing in Voice, Speech Production, and Swallowing -  Do you have more questions about FVSSC? Check the FAQ. Would you like to contact FVSSC directly? Please read this. .