quick fix

I think I've mentioned before on here that my oldest son has a speech issue. He has severe articulation issues. He is receiving speech therapy once a week for 30 minutes and has since March. He is making great strides with both his speech and learning more and more signs to help with his communication.

This has been a thorn in my side with many family members (both sides of the family). B also is tongue tied (there is a small piece of "skin" that connects the tip of his tongue to the floor of his mouth). This is part of the issue that is causing his articulation issues, as he does not have full motion with his tongue.

My family is under the impression, so it would seem, that as soon as we get his tongue fixed all the speech problems will go away. Now I will give my family credit in that both my mother and father are making an effort to learn many of the signs that B uses on a regular basis. They also take time to listen and pay attention to what he is saying. If you can put his speech in context you can often figure out what he is saying. But, nagging me about getting B into the ENT is not going to make life easier. Yes, we have an appointment finally with an ENT. Yes, we are going to see what the ENT says about his tongue, but we know that it is a piece of the puzzle not the solution to it.

R's family seem to be under the impression that his speech isn't a real issue because he is smart and understand everything you say. Yes, B is very smart (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mother). I know that at 2.5 he knows the capital and lowercase letters, recognizes numbers, colors, shapes, and many many many other skills. I know that his receptive language (understanding what he hears) is very high. But, that has nothing to do with his ability to effectivly express himself verbally. My MIL had a sign language book the last time she was here, but doesn't really understand that unless you listen to Blake and see the sign you will not understand what he is signing. He is 2 and has his own interpretation of many signs. R and I use correct signs when we sign to him, but know that his are well... his version. On more than one occasion I have heard my in-laws (in my opinion) mimicing what B is saying. They just copy the sounds he is using instead of listening to what he is saying and then saying the word correctly.

B is a smart child and I know he will get past this challenge, but there is no quick fix. I just wish that all of the family would accept that this is the way it is, and we are working hard to improve. The with time and patience B will speak correctly. That all he needs is for you to give him the attention to what he is saying... to listen to him and hear him. To help him by saying the right thing in context and not try to correct him. To show him that you see his progress and help him get excited for the progress he is making.

Is that too much to ask?