One of the Answers

Well...I started writing this last week.  Last Thursday night to be exact.  But, it was way too long and provided you with way too much information.  And, I'm more of a 'cut to the chase' kind of a girl, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

I think we've found one of the answers.

Yep, you heard that right.  

You know those things that keep you awake at night.  The to do lists, the worries, the stresses....well, one of my biggest 'keep me up at night' worries is Andrew and his frustrations with speech. 

I don't worry so much about him understanding these words we work on every day, it's the frustration and the stress that it's causing him, that keeps me up at night.  He is trying his hardest to say these sounds, to make the words come out just right, but something is holding him back. 

And, last Thursday, we got an answer.  A reason for his mispronunciations...a reason for his frustrations and stress and anxiety about speaking.  

Last Thursday we found out that Andrew has tongue tie.  And {unfortunately} he's got it pretty bad.  

Like, so bad that, while leaning back in the dentist chair, he cannot touch his tongue to the roof of his mouth.  Not only that, but he's got it on his upper lip as well.  

Talk about an eye opener.

The dentist said, 'Try imagining that you have a web under your arm and you need to scratch your head.  You wouldn't be able to do it like most people and it would be frustrating...although you would find a way to do it, it wouldn't be quite right.'

Then he said, 'Now try saying spiderman without touching the roof of your mouth.'

It was impossible.

We tried a few other words and I couldn't believe it.  

The dentist went on to say that a lot of people are skeptical of this procedure, but in most of his patients, they can hear a speech improvement the very next day. 

Crazy.  I know.  But, so so so so amazing!

I think this is it.  I truly believe this is one of the answers and is going to help our Andrew so much with his words.  

We've got the appointment scheduled and, although I'm super nervous about the pain he is going to feel from this procedure {the pediatric dentist we are seeing uses a laser to do it}, I know it will be short-lived once he realizes what he can do.

Plus, he'll get a lot of popsicles.  Which is nice.

Have any of you experienced this?  What was it like?  I'd love any advice or recommendations you might have!

Oh, and thank you for thinking of us, praying for Andrew, and for your words of wisdom and advice throughout the past year, since first making the call to ask for help with Andrew's speech.  It means the world to us!