Life with Logan

Its been a while since I've talked in depth about Logan and his speech, sensory and behavioral issues. We always have so much going on with him, and its an exhausting cycle of phone calls, appointments, research, consultations, time-outs and tantrums (sometimes mine). But all the while, life is going on and we are trying to manage life with Logan. He is a whirlwind of typical two year old activity and moods, but seems to be at one emotional extreme or the other instead of living somewhere in the middle. Laid back and easy going, he is not. But we are dealing and learning.

His weekly early intervention speech therapist has been coming since April, and she is a wonderful woman. She is helping us find some resources for him. She just re-tested him as a two year old last week to find out his level of speech delay. For expressive/verbal language he tested at 22 months, so two months behind. For receptive language he tested at 26 months (two months ahead), so he clearly understands a lot. His ability to work puzzles and match colors and shapes and recognize objects is unbelievable. And, he's great at problem solving and he's very social. The challenge lies within his very low frustration level and his strong will. He has such a short temper and just explodes over the smallest things. Once he starts crying, he can't seem to settle himself down. And this is multiple times a day. He is also a terrible sleeper, and a picky eater. We're just not catching a break anywhere with him I guess. Fortunately, he is lovable, funny and cute so I think we'll keep him.

As I mentioned before, we've been taking him to a behavioralist as well as a developmental pediatrican at Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore since January. Its a fantastic place (albeit a bit far at $4 a gallon) and we've been able to build up a whole repertoire of discipline tactics. They have been an incredible resource and we also hope to find someone more locally who can see him on a more frequent basis. Its very difficult to find therapists willing to work with children under five.

His speech therapist has witnessed enough of his behavior to realize he has some issues with self regulation and impulse control. She is working on trying to get him into early intervention preschool thru our county. I think a part time classroom setting with structure, without me there, would be great for him. But since his language delay isn’t huge (its actually borderline for him to even qualify for speech therapy services), we have to help her build his case based on behavioral issues. It’s not going to be easy and it will be a few months before we know. It’s a long shot, but we’re trying. Behavioral issues just don’t get the urgency/attention in the school system that speech delays and other types of developmental issues do. It’s the State of VA just not putting the funding behind it. I’m learning a lot as we are going thru this process.

I just have to take it one day at a time with him. He can be so sweet and fun. Those are the moments I have to savor and bottle up for the hard times. The feeling of walking on eggshells never goes away and every day is unpredictable. But we’re doing the best we can, and that's all we can do.

Logan, its not always easy being your Mommy. But its never, ever boring. I love you, buddy.