Apraxia update

So it's been a while since I've talked about Karen's progress.  We have her in speech therapy three times a week.  Once through the school district while she is at preschool and twice a week at the EWU/WSU speech and hearing clinic.  She works there with a graduate student clinician with oversight from an amazing expert on childhood apraxia of speech - Dr. Amy

The last couple of months there has been a huge jump in Karen's speech (words, attempts, etc.) and her social interaction when she is at preschool.   She now has at least 75 words (that I can "understand") and is starting to put words together in two to four word "phrases" ... I use quotes because they are not typical sentence structure, are pretty stilted, and are usually in the wrong order, but the fact that she is stringing words and/or multiple syllables together is HUGE!

It has been a struggle lately.  When she was a baby she was VERY laid back.  But as she has gotten older, she is starting to assert herself and her preferences (which is mostly a wonderful thing!)... but being unable to communicate those needs and preferences effectively is starting to become a bigger deal.  We are seeing more tantrums and acting out from frustration.  I pray that the progress in her speech will help her feel less frustrated.  I feel so helpless most of the time and never realized how powerless you feel as a parent when you have a little one that struggles with something that you simply cannot do anything to help with.