The speech therapist that has been working with Reagan has been encouraging us to take her to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. So we finally did. I had imagined that they would find nothing unusual and we would work with her more on pronouncing those tricky B and P sounds.
I was a little shocked to find that she does have a physical problem. A Bifid Uvula and Velopharyngeal insufficiency. "How do you pronounce that?" I may need a speech therapist for that one.
What this means to lay people like myself is that her uvula, that little thing hanging down in the back of you mouth, is split in two. If it had been worse it would have been a cleft pallet. Because of this her soft pallet doesn't close off her nasal cavity completely when she swallows, that is the Velopharyngeal insufficiency.
I was a little distraught at first learning this, but now I am more in the "deal with it" mode. The doctor says that surgery is rarely needed and there are few doctors who perform that sort of procedure. It could even make it worse. Apparently more speech therapy is the best/only option. The speech therapist that we have been working with is due to come over on Friday and she will discuss options with us. She suspected that there was some sort of physical problem with her speech because of the particular words that Reagan was having trouble pronouncing.
Rylee Madison and Jordan are all still a little under the weather. Madison is on the last day of steroids for croup. Jordan just has a bit of a cold, but is coughing pretty badly. Rylee still has a fever and is eating and drinking very little, but we have been able to keep her fever under 101 degrees for more than 24 hours. I think she is on the mend.
Labels: Updates