This will most likely be the only post I make for a couple of weeks. We move to our new house next Wednesday, and that is also Riley's last day of school, so things are busy, busy, busy!
Taking a bit of a break from where I last left off in my "story". A lot of the time when I'm reading about GDD, I questions like "what if your child didn't have GDD? If you could change it, would you?" Most of the time, people answer with things like "no, i love my child no matter what, and this is who they are".
I often wonder how much of that statement is true, or if they just feel like that is the "right" answer to give. Cuz me, if I could take away my son's GDD, I would do it in a heart beat. If Riley was able to tell us all his thoughts, feelings, fears, etc, that would be the best thing in the world. I would gladly give up all our stresses, for those of a parent with a "normal" child. I would love to stress about hockey playoffs, sleepovers at friends, summer camp, kissing girls, and sneaking out to hang with his friends.
You know, I don't think that GDD has made Riley who he is anyway. Sure, it has affected him greatly, but I'd like think that my husband and I responsible for making Riley who he is. I think we have something to do with his humour, his kindness, his good manners, his love of music, tomatoes, bread, the outdoors, and so much more. GDD has made Riley more innocent, and I love that, and how the simplest things make him happy, but I can't help but think of how much MORE he could be without it. A life without GDD would be fabulous, my little man could do anything.
So, if it makes me a bad mom for wishing that I could change my child, for wishing that he could have the same opportunities as his peers, for wishing that he had his own voice, then I guess that's what I am. And you know what? I'm perfectly fine with that :o)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Every Child Deserves a Voice
"Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. For reasons not yet fully understood, children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. Apraxia of speech is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or verbal dyspraxia. No matter what name is used, the most important concept is the root word "praxis." Praxis means planned movement. To some degree or another, a child with the diagnosis of apraxia of speech has difficulty programming and planning speech movements." -Apraxia Kids website.
One night, I Googled "my 3 year old doesn't talk", and came across the fabulous Apraxia Kids website. I had never heard of apraxia, but after exploring the website, I was sure that this was the reason for Riley's severe speech delay. I learned that it wasn't so much a "delay", but more of a "disability". Basically, apraxia is knowing what you want to say, but not being able to form the words. I read somewhere that it's like when an adult has a stroke, and has to learn how to talk all over again. They understand what people are saying to them, and they know in their head what they want to say to others, but they just can't make the tongue, lips and muscles in the mouth form the words correctly. I think this is why Riley says so many words "wrong", but when you repeat what you've heard, he says "no", and looks at you like you're stupid. For example, he has a really hard time saying "Scooby Doo"-it sounds more like "haa goos". If you were to repeat to him "haa goos?", he would say "no, haa goos". lol. To him, he IS saying "Scooby Doo".
Anyway, I researched apraxia like crazy, convinced that this was it. I purchased the book "The Late Talker:What to Do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" by Lisa Geng, et al. Everything in that book sounded so much like Riley. Apraxia isn't just not being able to talk, it involves a lot of different motor planning difficulties. One of the things that stood out to me, was that most apraxic children are clumsy and lack co-ordination, and have a hard time learning to ride a tricycle. I thought "uh, hello! Riley is 3 and cannot figure out how to pedal". He is 7 today, and still can't ride a tricycle. He's happy just to use his feel to push himself along. We bought him a 2 wheeler with training wheels for Christmas when he was 4, and he couldn't figure that one out either. Seems so simple...
I joined a few apraxia support groups on Facebook, and through that, I met a mother with twin boys, the same age as my Riley, who was going through a lot of the same things that we were. She too, suspected that her boys had apraxia. I'm not exactly sure when it was, but she had her boys assessed by a pediatrician, and they were both diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech. I mentioned the idea of apraxia to our family doctor, but she didn't really say much about it. I wondered if it was b/c she didn't know a lot about it, or b/c she didn't think that it fit Riley. I was quickly learning that not a lot of medical professionals knew a lot about apraxia, and that it was more of a speech/language pathologist thing. I also mentioned it to the support worker that had been coming to our house to work on speech with Riley, and she thought it was definitely worth looking into. However, when we went to an appointment at CHEO with the developmental ped, he kinda of pushed it aside, and said no, that it was definitely global developmental delay. Whatever. What the hell do I know...
I still think to this day, that Riley definitely has some kind of motor planning disability. I fully support apraxia of speech, whether my son has it or not, and I proudly advertise the motto of "every child deserves a voice" with a magnetic awareness ribbon on my vehicle.
For more information on Apraxia, please visit http://www.apraxia-kids.org/
One night, I Googled "my 3 year old doesn't talk", and came across the fabulous Apraxia Kids website. I had never heard of apraxia, but after exploring the website, I was sure that this was the reason for Riley's severe speech delay. I learned that it wasn't so much a "delay", but more of a "disability". Basically, apraxia is knowing what you want to say, but not being able to form the words. I read somewhere that it's like when an adult has a stroke, and has to learn how to talk all over again. They understand what people are saying to them, and they know in their head what they want to say to others, but they just can't make the tongue, lips and muscles in the mouth form the words correctly. I think this is why Riley says so many words "wrong", but when you repeat what you've heard, he says "no", and looks at you like you're stupid. For example, he has a really hard time saying "Scooby Doo"-it sounds more like "haa goos". If you were to repeat to him "haa goos?", he would say "no, haa goos". lol. To him, he IS saying "Scooby Doo".
Anyway, I researched apraxia like crazy, convinced that this was it. I purchased the book "The Late Talker:What to Do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" by Lisa Geng, et al. Everything in that book sounded so much like Riley. Apraxia isn't just not being able to talk, it involves a lot of different motor planning difficulties. One of the things that stood out to me, was that most apraxic children are clumsy and lack co-ordination, and have a hard time learning to ride a tricycle. I thought "uh, hello! Riley is 3 and cannot figure out how to pedal". He is 7 today, and still can't ride a tricycle. He's happy just to use his feel to push himself along. We bought him a 2 wheeler with training wheels for Christmas when he was 4, and he couldn't figure that one out either. Seems so simple...
I joined a few apraxia support groups on Facebook, and through that, I met a mother with twin boys, the same age as my Riley, who was going through a lot of the same things that we were. She too, suspected that her boys had apraxia. I'm not exactly sure when it was, but she had her boys assessed by a pediatrician, and they were both diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech. I mentioned the idea of apraxia to our family doctor, but she didn't really say much about it. I wondered if it was b/c she didn't know a lot about it, or b/c she didn't think that it fit Riley. I was quickly learning that not a lot of medical professionals knew a lot about apraxia, and that it was more of a speech/language pathologist thing. I also mentioned it to the support worker that had been coming to our house to work on speech with Riley, and she thought it was definitely worth looking into. However, when we went to an appointment at CHEO with the developmental ped, he kinda of pushed it aside, and said no, that it was definitely global developmental delay. Whatever. What the hell do I know...
I still think to this day, that Riley definitely has some kind of motor planning disability. I fully support apraxia of speech, whether my son has it or not, and I proudly advertise the motto of "every child deserves a voice" with a magnetic awareness ribbon on my vehicle.
For more information on Apraxia, please visit http://www.apraxia-kids.org/
Thursday, June 9, 2011
He's Just a "Late Talker". Right???
By his second birthday, we had decided that Riley was a "late talker". We were still baffled by the fact that he seemed to be picking up a few words here and there, and using them repeatedly for a week or two, then seemed to forget that he had ever known them. Was this normal???
After a visit to discuss this with our family doctor in February, 2006, Riley was placed on a waiting list for services with a speech/language pathologist (SLP). In June of that year, Riley began taking speech with an SLP at the hospital. It was pure hell. Between June and December 2006, we attended 8 sessions, where most of the time, Riley did everything that the SLP didn't want him to do. And you know what? I don't blame him one bit. Her office at the hospital also doubled as her therapy room. One side had a desk with binders and papers everywhere, and a computer that was oh so tempting to my curious little boy. The other side had a child size table and chairs, and a cupboard full of toys. Now, you tell me, what 2 year old wouldn't want to explore the unknown on the other side of the room. It was very hard to keep Riley focused and on task, never mind me. I just felt like there wasn't a connection between the SLP and Riley, and I eventually told her that it wasn't working. She then suggested a home based service that specialized in children with developmental delays, agreeing that Riley would probably have more success in his own environment. Duh. And of course there was a waiting list...We heard from the speech program in April 2007, and started receiving regular visits in June/07. Thing is, the poor kid went from January-June/07 receiving no speech/language services at all.
Needless to say, Riley's speech wasn't really coming along. But it sure didn't stop him from communicating with us! He had no problem using other methods to get his needs/wants/feeling across, and often used pointing and gesturing, and would take us by the hand to show us what he wanted. While we were seeing the SLP, she suggested teaching him simple sign, so we had started with "more", but he didn't seem to be picking it up. I think that in his mind, he had lots of words, to us, they just came across as sounds, but those sounds had meaning. For the most part, it seemed as though he was learning to talk like a 1-2 year old does, not like a 3 year old, who should have most of his sounds and words. Most of the words that Riley used that were actual "words", seemed to be missing either the beginning or the end sound.
I spent a lot of time taking language samples of what Riley was saying, and trying to figure out the meaning behind all the sounds. On February 26/07, I recorded the following:
*up
*whoa!
*cup (omitting the C)
*go
*out (omitting the T)
*hat (omitting the T)
*car (omitting the C)
*Bob (sounds like "obp")
*coat
*come
*hi!
*umm (wanting something)
*yum yum yum
*igum (???)
*ikeegum (???)
*smacks his lips or points into his mouth when he wants something to eat
If we didn't know the context of what Riley was talking about, it was extremely hard to understand. But you know, the little guy never once got frustrated b/c we didn't know what he was talking about. I think that it was more frustrating for my husband and I. Riley would sit there, obviously telling us a story about something, but we couldn't understand. We would make guesses to what we thought he was talking about, and sometimes we were right, and if we were wrong, Riley would try again, and again, and again. Sometimes we ended up saying "We just don't know, buddy...", and he would look so disappointed, and hang his head a bit, in defeat. It broke our hearts. We felt like failures, and often wondered what we did wrong, how we could do more, how we could get him back on track. Everyone told us not to worry, that he was probably just a "late talker".
It was around that time that I decided that if no one else was going to help my boy, and try to figure out why he wasn't talking, then I would have to do it myself. I spent lots of late nights, researching speech delays online, and one night, I came across something called "apraxia". The bells went off. This sounded exactly like my Riley.
After a visit to discuss this with our family doctor in February, 2006, Riley was placed on a waiting list for services with a speech/language pathologist (SLP). In June of that year, Riley began taking speech with an SLP at the hospital. It was pure hell. Between June and December 2006, we attended 8 sessions, where most of the time, Riley did everything that the SLP didn't want him to do. And you know what? I don't blame him one bit. Her office at the hospital also doubled as her therapy room. One side had a desk with binders and papers everywhere, and a computer that was oh so tempting to my curious little boy. The other side had a child size table and chairs, and a cupboard full of toys. Now, you tell me, what 2 year old wouldn't want to explore the unknown on the other side of the room. It was very hard to keep Riley focused and on task, never mind me. I just felt like there wasn't a connection between the SLP and Riley, and I eventually told her that it wasn't working. She then suggested a home based service that specialized in children with developmental delays, agreeing that Riley would probably have more success in his own environment. Duh. And of course there was a waiting list...We heard from the speech program in April 2007, and started receiving regular visits in June/07. Thing is, the poor kid went from January-June/07 receiving no speech/language services at all.
Needless to say, Riley's speech wasn't really coming along. But it sure didn't stop him from communicating with us! He had no problem using other methods to get his needs/wants/feeling across, and often used pointing and gesturing, and would take us by the hand to show us what he wanted. While we were seeing the SLP, she suggested teaching him simple sign, so we had started with "more", but he didn't seem to be picking it up. I think that in his mind, he had lots of words, to us, they just came across as sounds, but those sounds had meaning. For the most part, it seemed as though he was learning to talk like a 1-2 year old does, not like a 3 year old, who should have most of his sounds and words. Most of the words that Riley used that were actual "words", seemed to be missing either the beginning or the end sound.
I spent a lot of time taking language samples of what Riley was saying, and trying to figure out the meaning behind all the sounds. On February 26/07, I recorded the following:
*up
*whoa!
*cup (omitting the C)
*go
*out (omitting the T)
*hat (omitting the T)
*car (omitting the C)
*Bob (sounds like "obp")
*coat
*come
*hi!
*umm (wanting something)
*yum yum yum
*igum (???)
*ikeegum (???)
*smacks his lips or points into his mouth when he wants something to eat
If we didn't know the context of what Riley was talking about, it was extremely hard to understand. But you know, the little guy never once got frustrated b/c we didn't know what he was talking about. I think that it was more frustrating for my husband and I. Riley would sit there, obviously telling us a story about something, but we couldn't understand. We would make guesses to what we thought he was talking about, and sometimes we were right, and if we were wrong, Riley would try again, and again, and again. Sometimes we ended up saying "We just don't know, buddy...", and he would look so disappointed, and hang his head a bit, in defeat. It broke our hearts. We felt like failures, and often wondered what we did wrong, how we could do more, how we could get him back on track. Everyone told us not to worry, that he was probably just a "late talker".
It was around that time that I decided that if no one else was going to help my boy, and try to figure out why he wasn't talking, then I would have to do it myself. I spent lots of late nights, researching speech delays online, and one night, I came across something called "apraxia". The bells went off. This sounded exactly like my Riley.
 |
| Riley turns 2! |
 |
| Summer 2006 |
 |
| Fall 2006 |
 |
| Spring 2007 (3 years old) |
 |
| Captain Underpants Riley being silly |
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Early Development
I had an extremely easy pregnancy. In fact, I didn't even know I was pregnant until I was almost 4 months along. It wasn't like we were trying to conceive, but we weren't exactly *not* trying to either. It happened fast, like right away. We were both 28, and engaged to be married the following summer, so we were more than happy to learn of the news. We knew that it was a baby boy, not that the gender mattered, but there was no way I could go another 5 months without knowing!
All of my prenatal checkups went well, and the baby was growing and developing at the normal rate. Besides being tired, I felt great. I did everything right. I never did smoke, so that wasn't a big adjustment. I didn't drink. I didn't do drugs. I wouldn't even take a Tylenol if I had a headache. I walked, I stretched, I took prenatal vitamins and folic acid. I upped the protein, the fruits, the veggies. I even drank milk for this baby! It was a text book pregnancy.
Post natal, everything went well too. Riley was eating and growing well. He was always in the 95th percentile for height. He was happy, healthy, active, and hardly ever cried. He was always the centre of attention, and people always commented on how beautiful he was, with his soft white/blond hair and bright blue eyes.
I was breastfeeding, and did so until Riley was 10 months old. The only reason I stopped, was b/c Riley caught a bad cold and seemed to have an easier time with a bottle. He was reaching all developmental milestones within the normal range. He had his first smile at a month old. His first teeth appeared around 6 months (just in time for our wedding...) He crawled and sat up at 7 months . He cooed and giggled and babbled. He started walking at 13 months. He made us smile and laugh, and we loved him more and more every day.
It was shortly before Riley's 2nd birthday that we decided something wasn't "right". He had started saying simple words around 18 months, but then suddenly seemed to "forget" them. Being first time parents, we didn't think anything at first.
Every other week since birth, I had taken Riley to a well baby group, that involved the public health nurse weighing and measuring the baby. Of course there were those moms that loved to brag about what their baby was doing, and when they did it. They annoyed the crap out of me, always trying to one up each other. I was relatively new to this town, and didn't know many people, so I mostly just kept to myself. Anyway, it wasn't until they were all bragging about the cute little things their babies were saying, that I started to wonder why Riley wasn't doing the same. I mean, he had been so on with all the other milestones, why not talking? I will never forget the day that two of the moms were bragging about how smart their kids were, and what was my son doing? Banging his head repeatedly on the wall. Not hard, it just kinda seemed like he was playing. I honestly didn't think anything of it at the time. But, was that a sign of things to come?
All of my prenatal checkups went well, and the baby was growing and developing at the normal rate. Besides being tired, I felt great. I did everything right. I never did smoke, so that wasn't a big adjustment. I didn't drink. I didn't do drugs. I wouldn't even take a Tylenol if I had a headache. I walked, I stretched, I took prenatal vitamins and folic acid. I upped the protein, the fruits, the veggies. I even drank milk for this baby! It was a text book pregnancy.
Post natal, everything went well too. Riley was eating and growing well. He was always in the 95th percentile for height. He was happy, healthy, active, and hardly ever cried. He was always the centre of attention, and people always commented on how beautiful he was, with his soft white/blond hair and bright blue eyes.
I was breastfeeding, and did so until Riley was 10 months old. The only reason I stopped, was b/c Riley caught a bad cold and seemed to have an easier time with a bottle. He was reaching all developmental milestones within the normal range. He had his first smile at a month old. His first teeth appeared around 6 months (just in time for our wedding...) He crawled and sat up at 7 months . He cooed and giggled and babbled. He started walking at 13 months. He made us smile and laugh, and we loved him more and more every day.
It was shortly before Riley's 2nd birthday that we decided something wasn't "right". He had started saying simple words around 18 months, but then suddenly seemed to "forget" them. Being first time parents, we didn't think anything at first.
Every other week since birth, I had taken Riley to a well baby group, that involved the public health nurse weighing and measuring the baby. Of course there were those moms that loved to brag about what their baby was doing, and when they did it. They annoyed the crap out of me, always trying to one up each other. I was relatively new to this town, and didn't know many people, so I mostly just kept to myself. Anyway, it wasn't until they were all bragging about the cute little things their babies were saying, that I started to wonder why Riley wasn't doing the same. I mean, he had been so on with all the other milestones, why not talking? I will never forget the day that two of the moms were bragging about how smart their kids were, and what was my son doing? Banging his head repeatedly on the wall. Not hard, it just kinda seemed like he was playing. I honestly didn't think anything of it at the time. But, was that a sign of things to come?
 |
| 1st smile, Feb 17, 2004 |
 |
| My gorgeous boy at 5 months (Daddy's favourite picture of Riley) |
 |
| 1 Year Old! |
 |
| Walking and "talking" |
Monday, June 6, 2011
In The Beginning...
Just after midnight on January 20, 2004, I woke up and had to go pee REALLY bad. After leaving the bathroom, I remembered that I was pregnant and now technically one day over my due date. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think that my water had just broke, but what did I know, I had never done this before. I wasn't having cramps or any other signs of labour, but I woke my partner up anyway, to discuss. I really don't know what I was expecting from a man, who had never been through a pregnancy either, and after a few seconds of unintelligible mumbling, the panic struck him. He asked if I wanted to go the hospital, and I responded by telling him that I didn't think it was time, and to go back to sleep. He didn't object. About 15 minutes later, I started having small contractions, but I still didn't think they were bad enough to wake him again. So instead, I shaved my legs and painted my toenails, and when a contraction hit me, I would stand up, walk around stretching, and did some deep breathing. An hour had passed since I first woke up, and the contractions started getting worse. I woke Terry up and told him that this time, it was time.
I think it was around 2am when we were all "settled" in the birthing room. I remember that my back was killing me, so I took a shower. Then I remember laying in the bed, being hooked up to the monitors, and nurses asking me if I wanted to try the gas to relieve the pain. I said yep, and it turned out to be my best friend, until they took it away from me. It wasn't a difficult labour, if you ignore the fact that the stubborn little bugger didn't want to seem to come out. I think we tried every birthing position possible. I was tired, ready to give up, like I really had a choice. Then I remember my doctor and the nurses being concerned about the baby's oxygen levels, b/c he was in the birth canal for a longer than usual period of time. My doctor tried forceps. No luck. Then she tried the suction cup thing. I opened my eyes for second and saw that the "c-section doctor" was there, and I had a moment of panic of being cut open. I guess that's what did it, b/c the next thing I know, I was holding the most beautiful baby boy I had ever seen.
Riley Kevin O'Malley was born at 8:47am on Tuesday, January 20, 2004. He weighed 8lb, 15oz, and was 21 1/4 inches long. He had beautiful blue eyes, lots of white downy hair, big feet, big hands, and long slim fingers. Besides being a bit jaundiced, there were no concerns. He was bright, attentive, and perfect. He was mine, my sweet baby boy.
I think it was around 2am when we were all "settled" in the birthing room. I remember that my back was killing me, so I took a shower. Then I remember laying in the bed, being hooked up to the monitors, and nurses asking me if I wanted to try the gas to relieve the pain. I said yep, and it turned out to be my best friend, until they took it away from me. It wasn't a difficult labour, if you ignore the fact that the stubborn little bugger didn't want to seem to come out. I think we tried every birthing position possible. I was tired, ready to give up, like I really had a choice. Then I remember my doctor and the nurses being concerned about the baby's oxygen levels, b/c he was in the birth canal for a longer than usual period of time. My doctor tried forceps. No luck. Then she tried the suction cup thing. I opened my eyes for second and saw that the "c-section doctor" was there, and I had a moment of panic of being cut open. I guess that's what did it, b/c the next thing I know, I was holding the most beautiful baby boy I had ever seen.
Riley Kevin O'Malley was born at 8:47am on Tuesday, January 20, 2004. He weighed 8lb, 15oz, and was 21 1/4 inches long. He had beautiful blue eyes, lots of white downy hair, big feet, big hands, and long slim fingers. Besides being a bit jaundiced, there were no concerns. He was bright, attentive, and perfect. He was mine, my sweet baby boy.
 |
| Riley, an hour old |
 |
| One day old |
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Welcome
My son Riley has global developmental delay (GDD).
What is GDD? Wikipedia describes global developmental delay as "a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviours." GDD is quite often also referred to as "developmental disability" or, my personal favourite, *sarcasm* "mental retardation".
There are many causes for GDD, including: genetic conditions, problems during pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome, exposure to certain diseases or toxins, malnutrition, and complications at birth, ie: lack of oxygen. The signs and symptoms most often always include: delays is speech/language development, difficulty learning socialization and social rules, difficulty with problem solving, delays in the development of self help or self care skills, developmental delays in fine and/or gross motor skills, and lack of social inhibitors.
Children with GDD usually learn slower than a "normal" child, and this is often obvious from birth, as parents may find that their child learns to sit up, to crawl, to walk, or to talk later than other children. GDD cchildren may take longer to learn language, develop social skills, and take care of their personal needs, such as dressing or eating. Learning will take them longer, require more repetition, and skills may need to be adapted to their learning level. However, GDD children are NOT stupid, and they are all able to learn and develop, and live full, happy lives.
So, with all the medical jargon out of the way, I will now tell you what I think about GDD. I think that GDD is a bitch. It's most often a term used to diagnose a child when medical professionals don't know what else to call it. It's not autism. It's not Down Syndrome. It's basically a big unknown in our lives, as we have yet to find a reason for Riley's GDD. It certainly isn't something that I asked for, but it came with my son, and has been our lives for the past 4 years. My intention is not to gain people's pity, as this is not about me, but rather it is about bringing awareness to others and educating society about global developmental delay.
Before we go any further, I feel that there should be a "reader advisory" warning.
*I will be sharing my thoughts, opinions, and feelings as honestly as I can in this blog.
*There will be swearing. Probably lots of it.
*There will be spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
*There will probably be things said that may offend some readers.
If you still think that you can handle it, then let me welcome you to the Life of Riley :o)
Please visit www.facebook.com/believeinbella to read about another family with a GDD child.
What is GDD? Wikipedia describes global developmental delay as "a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviours." GDD is quite often also referred to as "developmental disability" or, my personal favourite, *sarcasm* "mental retardation".
There are many causes for GDD, including: genetic conditions, problems during pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome, exposure to certain diseases or toxins, malnutrition, and complications at birth, ie: lack of oxygen. The signs and symptoms most often always include: delays is speech/language development, difficulty learning socialization and social rules, difficulty with problem solving, delays in the development of self help or self care skills, developmental delays in fine and/or gross motor skills, and lack of social inhibitors.
Children with GDD usually learn slower than a "normal" child, and this is often obvious from birth, as parents may find that their child learns to sit up, to crawl, to walk, or to talk later than other children. GDD cchildren may take longer to learn language, develop social skills, and take care of their personal needs, such as dressing or eating. Learning will take them longer, require more repetition, and skills may need to be adapted to their learning level. However, GDD children are NOT stupid, and they are all able to learn and develop, and live full, happy lives.
So, with all the medical jargon out of the way, I will now tell you what I think about GDD. I think that GDD is a bitch. It's most often a term used to diagnose a child when medical professionals don't know what else to call it. It's not autism. It's not Down Syndrome. It's basically a big unknown in our lives, as we have yet to find a reason for Riley's GDD. It certainly isn't something that I asked for, but it came with my son, and has been our lives for the past 4 years. My intention is not to gain people's pity, as this is not about me, but rather it is about bringing awareness to others and educating society about global developmental delay.
Before we go any further, I feel that there should be a "reader advisory" warning.
*I will be sharing my thoughts, opinions, and feelings as honestly as I can in this blog.
*There will be swearing. Probably lots of it.
*There will be spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
*There will probably be things said that may offend some readers.
If you still think that you can handle it, then let me welcome you to the Life of Riley :o)
Please visit www.facebook.com/believeinbella to read about another family with a GDD child.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)