2 Years 6 Months

Here are a few recent pictures of Belle. (Yes, the second picture is of Belle letting us bury her in the sand.)

Belle just crossed the 100 word mark for words that she voluntarily verbalizes on her own! Some of her latest words include "doctor, swimsuit, goggles," and "fruit chews." She has been sick quite a bit this month which has increased all her drainage, congestion, etc. Despite her restless nights, she seems to still be progressing. If Belle is in an agreeable mood and if she thinks there is a chance that she could be successful, she will attempt to say most of the words that I ask her to, although many of the ending sounds are typically left off.

In our oral motor program, we are continuing to work with bite blocks, gum, horns, and straws on a regular basis. We have a video conference with Whitney, at TalkTools, 1-2 times per month. "Skyping" with Whitney has been a great addition to our daily program.

In other news, I am happy to say that Belle can identify all of the uppercase letters in the alphabet! In addition to selecting the correct one when called upon, she can verbally pronounce about 10-12 of them too.

2 Years 7 Months

Belle has always been a "verbal" child. This month, however, her desire to vocalize has reached an all-time high. Just this past week, I left a voicemail message on Whitney's phone saying something to the effect of "Belle just talked for 8 minutes straight without stopping. She is using tons of facial expressions and hand gestures. I am excited about this, I think. But, I am also a little worried because I didn't understand one thing she said!" Whitney returned my call to reassure me that this was a natural stage in her progression and this type of lengthy babbling typically happens before a language explosion. I am thrilled to hear this!!!

Belle currently has around 110 words but there are SO many words that she says that I just can't quite translate yet. Once again, her articulation is not perfect, but we are working on it. :)

Regarding Belle's oral motor exercises, I feel like she has been making gains pretty steadily in the last month. Her horn duration is lengthening, as is her bubble blowing, and she has also moved up a level in her bite blocks and straws. We have been working for quite some time on our "Word Flips" app with Whitney. At a previous Skype session, Whitney noticed that it's Belle's vowel sounds that are lagging behind. So, we started slowing down and have her focused more on vowels. We have also transitioned into working with Belle to say her words with this app three times in a row, such as "pie, pie, pie." We are definitely seeing progress! But, our work continues.

Here are 2 quick videos showing Belle's progress with her Bubble Bear and Horn #3. Our goal is 2 feet on the bubbles and 1.5 seconds on the horn. We are getting closer to our goal.

Have a good day everyone!

-Lanie Beetsma

Annabelle has Down Syndrome and has been using TalkTools Therapy since she was born. Her story is a great inspiration for parents seeking help for a child with Down Syndrome. Follow Miss Annabelle’s journey from the beginning here.

Belle is now 2 years and 1 month old and is continuing to do well. You can see in the video below the improvement Belle has made with her Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) exercises. I only made her go to 10 on the horn, but she can do 25 fairly easily when I can her motivated. She loves to say "ten" when we are counting, as you will notice during her horn exercises :)

The introduction of gum chewing has also been a big hit. She sees her older siblings chew gum frequently, so she likes the fact that she can participate in something that the big kids do too.

I am continually amazed at Belle's receptive language and her ability to learn. We have found, however, that she is fairly quick to shut down with her Oral Placement Therapy tasks if she perceives something as too hard, or thinks that she will not be successful.

Our SLP, Whitney Pimentel, was the first one to pick up on this during one of our Skype sessions. Belle was refusing to play one of her horns, because she knew that her first attempt was not on target. Whitney then seamlessly altered our program so that Belle could find success on her previous, lower-level horn, and we could then strategically interject the new horn.

I am also happy to report that Belle has been off the bottle and pacifier for 3 full weeks now! We are so proud of her. 

Here is a video of Belle chewing gum, using Bubble Bear & Horn #2:

-Lanie Beetsma

Annabelle has Down Syndrome and has been using TalkTools Therapy since she was born. Her story is a great inspiration for parents seeking help for a child with Down Syndrome. Follow Miss Annabelle’s journey from the beginning here.

Belle turned 2 years old this month! How is it possible? She is full of life and joy. I am so proud of this little gal. She celebrated her birthday with family and friends and even blew out her own birthday candles! I know this wouldn't have been possible for her without TalkTools. She has had a lot of practice blowing bubbles so she knew how to carry that skill over to her candles. Belle has more than 45 words now and is even starting to name a few colors. Her favorites are blue and purple! She loves to try to sing along to kids songs on the piano and wants to be heard in all social interactions.

As Belle strives to make more of her own decisions and become more independent, she pushes back on some of her daily therapy exercises. Through working with Whitney, we have altered our oral motor placement routine a little in order for Belle to have more of a role in the decision making process. I try to make our sessions shorter and also reward with reading books. Reading is absolutely Belle's favorite thing to do. We are welcoming the 2's with open arms and look forward to another year of great progress, fun, and learning.  

Belle Repeating Words She Commonly Says on Her Own

-Lanie Beetsma

Annabelle has Down Syndrome and has been using TalkTools Therapy since she was born. Her story is a great inspiration for parents seeking help for a child with Down Syndrome. Follow Miss Annabelle’s journey from the beginning here.

Belle is doing well and consistently adds to the lively chatter in our home :) She has approximately 35 words that she says regularly, although someone from outside our family may only understand about half of those without an interpretation.

Belle has been working with Whitney, our Speech Language Pathologist with TalkTools, for about 18 months now. We get to see Whitney in person about twice a year, we email regularly, and have video conferences as needed. This month, however, we decided that it was time to start scheduling therapy sessions for Belle via Skype 2-4 times per month.

Belle has reached a point in her development that I need additional assistance with her oral motor placement exercises. She is striving for more independence and understands that speaking is a way for her to be heard and quickly get her needs met.

Working with Whitney this month has allowed me to better understand how each exercise is used to encourage a particular mouth posture, sound, etc. She has helped me to revamp our current TalkTools program to minimize frustration on many levels.

In a matter of a few days, Belle no longer needs the straw to blow bubbles through the wand. She can do it all by herself!  I am so thankful for these additional therapy sessions, and Belle is making great strides!

Here are three quick videos that highlight Belle's progress in month 23.

Belle Practicing with TalkTools' Apraxia Shapes

Belle Chomping on Her Red & Yellow Chewy Tubes

-Lanie Beetsma

Annabelle has Down Syndrome and has been using TalkTools Therapy since she was born. Her story is a great inspiration for parents seeking help for a child with Down Syndrome. Follow Miss Annabelle’s journey from the beginning here.