I've wondered about them too. I haven't seen an update, but I haven't been on much. I hope everything went ok, too.

I've been waiting also. I hope "no news is good news."

Sue

I, too, have been wondering, and hoping & praying for the best. I recall Joanna saying that they should get the results later the same day of the full evaluation; and since she hasn't posted anything, I'm concerned...

I'm glad you posted this Jenni, I've also thought of Brody lots.

I've been worrying also. I'm really really hoping no news is good news, but I have to admit I'm a pessimist. Joanna, if you see this, I hope you know how many people, even though they only know you through the internet, are hoping and praying for the best for your sweet baby. It does start to feel like family when you watch from the first announcement of pregnancy to their birth and growing years and beyond. I'm praying everything is o.k.
Katlan

I'm thinking of and praying for Brody and family. I've not been here as much lately with going to the cabin more.
Leslie

Sign my name to all the above post.Sending hugs and prayers to Joanna and family.

Shelley

Me too....Hope the news is good.

I have been wondering about them also.

Hi everyone!
Thank you all so much for your kindness and concern. I've had little time to get on the internet from home so I'm sneaking here at work :)

Brody has an IFSP meeting coming up next Thursday. An IFSP is an Individualized Family Services Plan through the Early Intervention of our local goverment. It's like an IEP for special education infants. Services are NOT free...which is crazy. The evaluators saw a 25% receptive language delay which means he is 4-6 months behind where he should be. Receptive language is the ability to understand what is being said and processing that language.

Brody doesn't understand what we say. If I say "Brody get the cup", he hasn't a clue what I'm asking or what a cup is. Unfortunately, receptive language delays are the more serious of the two (the other being expressive language, which he also has a 6 month delay in). If you don't understand what is being said, even in simple words or terms, he can't say the words either because he doesn't know what they mean. Autism might be the cause or there might be some learning disabilities involved as well.

In short, I'm still really worried because autism markers at this age indicate that receptive and expressive language delays are big red flags.

It's wonderful having support beyond the family from all of you! My mother in law, who cares for Brody, has been denying these delays for months and telling me that I've been overreacting. She says she doesn't want to teach him sign language because it's "giving up" on him talking--which is completely ridiculous as research indicates that teaching baby sign encourages speech.

Anyway, our family website is below with updates and I'll update next Thursday after our IFSP. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Brody's site

Thanks for the update. Keep us posted if you can. We wish you the BEST.

Sign language is like another language, no, not like another one, it is another language.

My friend Uschi and her husband only speak German with their daughter at home. But, she used sign language right from the first, showing Sophia how to tell, when she had enough to eat.

Now, even so Sophia doesn't talk much (at age 17 month), she uses the sign for telling her mom, she doesn't want to eat any more, that she is full. ;)

She also knows other signs, for when she wants her diaper changed, when she wants to drink or eat, and when she wants to show you something.

Sophia is learning English as well, but it is only used outside the home.

We feel, she will grow up able to use three languages, if they keep up with teaching her more signs.

Please, use sign language. Don't worry about your mother in law, just use it for you and Brody. Eventually your mother in law will figure it out herself, that Brody is trying to tell her something. :)

Then, who will be the smart one???

Moni

Thanks so much for the update AND the website. I've bookmarked it so I can keep informed. I will continue to pray for Brody. He is such a special little boy, not just to his family, but to his extended KT family as well.

BTW, your education in this field makes your explanation of what's going on in his life very informative to me. I have a special needs adult sister and am always interested in learning more.

Shirley

Thanks for the update Joanna. I love Brody's site. Congrats on him taking his first steps!! I love the sign language idea...I have a few friends who have done that also.

Well tell her that Signing also engages hand eye cooridination. And go on about the usefullness of it. It's not just for hearing impared or speaking impared. There are huge studies about using it with ALL infants and children.

I subbed in a Life skills elementary as an aid a few weeks back, and had no clue what the little one that had some speach, but had been signing since enfancy was telling me. I felt lost!
I would love to not need a translator!
If I continue this course of work, I will likely take a class.

And I know you know this, but Autism is not an awful thing. There are lots of things that can engage an autistic child, and their Autism does not rule their lives. Early intervention is the key.

How great that you know enough as a teacher and mother to get early diagnosis and treatment. Here's hoping you too will find that it makes all the difference.

He is such a chunky, sturdy little guy. He certainly has eating down pat!!! A real cutie.

Joanna, please check out this site, if you haven't found it already. These videos are AWESOME! I started using them w/ Bradley just before he was 6 months old. My husband was not supportive of teaching Bradley signing but I did it anyway, because I had heard it helps with communication issues when their toddlers and cannot always express themselves. I always watched and sang along w/ him and I believe they are part of the reason B spoke early. The videos have catchy songs and I cannot say enough about them. I would send you my copies if I didn't have them loaned out already.

I got some of the Baby Signing Time dvds first then I ended up getting the alphabet one later. They really are great!

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby Signing Time

Thanks for posting the link, Ginger. I've seen this site before but I didn't have it book marked.

I posted the following on another thread, but wanted to put our update here as well:
Thanks so much, everyone. I'll tell my husband you think Brody is cute, because he's identical to Mike and he'll get a big head over it! :)
Brody still isn't speaking. He did finally learn "So Big" and raises his arms up when we ask "How big is Brody?". He says "Dadada" still but isn't saying it to Mike. He will respond to "give me the book" sometimes and loves to sit on our laps and look at pictures in the books.

I'm still worried abou him. He doesn't imitate any speech sounds at all. He will imitate actions, but not many gestures. He does wave bye-bye, though.

((((Brody and his Family))))

His signing and jesters will lead to his understanding speech too, and watch him go then!!!

Give that sweetie a hug from me. I wish I could bring Harry for a visit. We lived next door to an autistic child on base. Watching Harry train, and playing with Harry himself, helped that young boy make a lot of progress. For some weird reason the kid liked me, too. He always wanted to "visit." We'd leave one conversation, supposedly in mid-sentence, and three days later he'd take up right where we'd left off. The kid didn't forget anything.

Bearcat, aren't you a spec. ed teacher? I can't quite remember, but I've watched the videos and of course I'm not there, but I see a perfectly normal one year old little boy. I have raised 3 and have 8 grands and a degree in Speech Therapy and Elementary Education and I just don't see why you're worried. Haven't you heard of children that didn't talk long past the time parents think they should talk, and then all of a sudden start talking in sentences with a developed vocabulary? I think if Brody was not your first child you wouldn't worry about this so much. I understand your being anxious about him, but I watched his facial expressions and his smiles, and I think your baby is okay. I wish you'd keep us updated b/c am aware of your concerns and appreciate them.

Thanks for the update on Brody. I've been thinking about him, too. I hope with good, early intervention Brody will make some good progress. Brody is so, so lucky his mom knows to follow her instincts and get him the support he needs.

I taught my kids what signs I knew, which wasn't much, just because it was fun to see them learn absolutely anything. I wish I had known more to teach them. I think it's a great idea for every baby. There is no "giving up," it's just another way to develop language understanding. My kids would sign "more" when they ate something very yummy. It was too cute. Before they were a year old, I'd give them a bite of yogurt and they would put those little fingers together "more, more, more" the whole time they ate it. ;o)

Joanna, my son, now 22, had some milestone deficits growing up. I was worried sick, he showed signs of autism in his behavior and still hadn't said one word, not mama, dada or baba by 18 months.

I took him to our pediatrician and asked to have testing done. He told me if Michael did not put two words together by age 2, that we would get a referral for a speech pathologist. "Two words?!?" I said, "... that's only 6 months away and he's not even babbling!"

So I waited (and worried) ... waited (and worried) ... and waited ... and nothing. I couldn't wait for Michael to turn 2 so I could march right down there to the doctor's office and say "See!".

I set up an appointment for two weeks after Michael's 2nd birthday. We had a big party for him, all the neighbors were invited, but Dave next door was a favorite of Michael's. Probably because he's a big Nebraska football fan and has an entire room that is filled with lively red and white (the team colors) collector's items and wall paper.

During the party we're all sitting around eating cake and having fun when Dave walks in and says "Hi Michael, happy birthday!". Nothing out of the ordinary, Dave is over all the time. But this time was special ... Michael turned to him and said, in a clear and concise way ... "Hi Dave." You could have heard a pin drop! Every neighbor knew of my concerns, so they all stopped what they were doing and just stared at Michael. He didn't have a clue what the big deal was. LOL

The next week Michael said "Go Big Red!!!" the Nebraska football chant. Sure makes for odd entries in the baby book! :-)

I canceled the doctor's appointment.

Michael is doing just fine. He graduated from high school a semester early, has already graduated from college and is well into a great career.

Jodi-

I love Jodi's story. Mine is very much the same, exept the Nebraska thing. No. Not in this house! Bears all the way!The outcome of all my worry though is the same. I think Brody will be fine.

Elisabeth

It can't hurt to do what you are doing, and if there *are* problems, time is of the essence.

My next door neighbor had a first child who was one of those 'born old' kids -- lovely, thoughtful, sweet boy. Then she had twins: boy and girl. The girl was a copy of Mom (a retired social worker). She 'did' for everybody, including her twin. Boy Twin was utterly passive until he was a little over two. He had no need to initiate anything; his twin or big brother did all that for him. His first words were complete sentences. He was a straight-A student with little effort. He did have an *attitude* problem, but there was nothing wrong with his brain or reflexes -- star baseball pitcher in HS and college.

Hi - I loved the pictures of Brody. My beloved nephew didn't speak a word until he was 2. He just grunted. He was tested for hearing problems and was found to be just fine. Every time he grunted, we knew exactly what he wanted or was grunting about. But absolutely no speech(not even mama or dada). Well, I take it back. He was very good at knowing "uh oh!" at the appropriate time!

He turned 2, and seemingly overnight started talking up a storm. It was amazing. BTW, he just graduated high school in the top 10% of his class, is athletically gifted, and an absolute joy (can you tell how much I adore him?).

I've read that speech isn't the only thing you're concerned about with Brody, and I think you're very wise to address things now. A dear friend has a child who needed early intervention and she caught it early and got the needed help. He is now a thriving 9 year old. He's got some social issues only in that it takes him a little more time to fit in, but because she was paying attention when he was a baby he is well beyond where he would be otherwise. And nobody would really notice that he's got a little issue; it's resolved enough that he's really learned to overcome it and soon fits right in.

You've got a beautiful little boy. My point is that it could be nothing or it could be something. But you're paying attention and that's wonderful. Try not to lose his babyhood in worrying, and just keep your eyes open.

Suzieque

What a handsome little boy. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers...you too mom and dad.
Dee in Michigan