Zach update

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He was tested for articulation today with the goldman-fristoe test of

articulation. Hopefully will get scores by Monday. Very upset, Zach

will be gettinghis 4th SLP in a year. We are going through EI & they

go through SLPs fast here. He really liked . He gave her hugs &

really worked with her. Have no ideal when we get the new one. Mad

about that too. We got back from Chicag last Thursday. We took him to

see a neurosurgeon about his Chiari Malformation. They said that the

Chiari (Meaning the cerebellar 'tonsils' (a portion of the cerebellum,

shaped like the tonsils in the neck) extend several millimeters

through the opening in the base of the skull (the foramen magnum) that

allows the spinal cord to attach to the brain) is messing with his

speech & we could do decompression surgery if we wanted or we could

take the wait & see approach. We took the wait & see. He said the

Chiari is causing pressure in the speech area of the brain. The nsg

said that if Zach were to ever lose words or stop talking he would

have to have the surgery. We dont want the surgery at all costs. The

Chiari will mess with his articulation & oral. I cant wait to see the

results. I know he has oral issues. Now the dredded wait for

articulation. Zach is 2 & has a bit over 50 words (YEAH)!!! HE is

still on the charts. I am so proud of him. He has came so far in just

a few months. He is starting to put 2 words together (YEAH)!!!!!!

Still concerned. We have 6 months to get him to 200 words. I think he

will make it if we keep working hard with him. Now when we get a ew

SLP here is a different story. EI said it will be the 2nd week in Aug.

Irrate about that. But I guess I will have to work extra hard with

him from now until then. Thanks for listening. Take care & hope all is

well your way. Angie