The Light at The End of The Tunnel...

Since February, Mackenna has been going to speech therapy. Not that I have felt it has been doing much good. Our participation in it has been voluntary. Our doctor arranged it for us so that Mackenna would not start to slide in some areas where she is advanced. He had told us that he really feels she can talk; she is just choosing not to. Heredity does play a role, and because of that we had not been too worried about it at first. As parents though, we have started to worry more about Mackenna and all the reasons she may not be speaking. Our speech therapy sessions have been one hour in length, once a week. They are a time for Mackenna to play in a ball pit, play with toys, and run around. To be honest, I have been extremely frustrated because the sessions have not been what the original therapist told us they would be. And due to that, Mackenna has not been back since April. John has a call into the lead therapist, and we will see what she suggests we do.

With all that said, last week started to show us some light at the end of the tunnel. John was in Ohio last week, traveling to bring back new ambulances for the district. Mackenna and I went out to eat with Grandma Fay and Grandpa Ron last Tuesday. Historically, Mackenna has always spoke for other people, but not so much for Mommy and Daddy. While we we eating dinner, she said "good" multiple times as she was eating her macaroni and cheese, which was not really anything unusual. During the course of our meal, she also said "wuv you" to me when I told her I loved her. When I changed her diaper in the restroom, she told me she wanted "down" from the changing table. As we were leaving, Grandpa Ron was holding her and my mom and I were walking in front of them to the van. Clear as a bell, she said "Grandma" across the parking lot. I think my mom was the most surprised! Mackenna had only said "Ma Ma" in the past, never the full word of "grandma" before. Before the night was out, she also said "again" and "whoa" when she knocked the vacuum cleaner down on the floor.

The next day, I got out colored pencils for Mackenna to color with. Instead of coloring with them, she uses them as pick up sticks. As I was showing her the colors and repeating them, she said "Red"; "Yellow"; "Blue"; and "Green." As a cartoon, "Little Einsteins," was playing in the background, one of the characters said "Golden Yellow" and Mackenna repeated it. I will admit I shed a few tears as I listened to her say the names of the colors! I had wanted her to talk for so long, and it made me so thankful to God that He was answering my prayers. Later that night, she said "Mac" in the grocery store as John was pointing out the macaroni and cheese to her.

Last Thursday, I followed John down to St Charles, MO so he could drop off one of the new ambulances for its "signage." We went to the St Louis Mills Mall on the way home. As Mackenna and I were waiting for John outside the restroom, he came out and said in a sing-songy voice, "Hello" to Mackenna. She said it back, in the same sing-songy voice. We laughed and were grateful all at the same time! Later on that night, she said "Di-per;" "No," and "Elmo."

Since last Thursday, Mackenna has added even more new words and phrases to her repetoire:
"Bowl"; "I don't know"; "Good girl"; "Apple"; "Mine"; "Out"; "Brown"; "Purple"; and "Mackenna"

John has been teaching her that her name is Mackenna. Today when she and I were grocery shopping in Kroger, she kept saying really loud something that sounded like, "Ma mana." She was so loud I kept telling her she had to be quiet. After listening to her a few times, I realized that the breaks in her words and the syllables matched her name, Mackenna. I asked her, "Are you saying your name, Mackenna?" She just laughed and said it again. Yes, the light is finally getting brighter!

While she is still not completely consistent with what she is saying, the fact that she has said over 20 new words and phrases during the last couple weeks is wonderful! It has given us hope that our precocious talker may be back! Please keep your prayers going up!