"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then. "
— Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)
— Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)
Through The Looking Glass
I've often contemplated archiving the ups and downs of this journey that we are on with Cruz. This journey is taking us through a world that we knew nothing of. Like most first time parents we have had our moments of pure joy and pride for the accomplishments of our first born. However, we have also had a multitude of difficulties as well. We first realized that there was a problem shortly after his first birthday. We couldn't put our finger on it exactly but we grimaced when he didn't reach the appropriate milestones and hoped that he would catch up. A few months ago we finally had him evaluated. He was diagnosed with Apraxia. 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. He has decreased sensitivity in his mouth and therefore has problems eating, talking, etc. In addition, he has other sensory disorders as well: vestibular dysfunction, and proprioception. These are words that a couple of months ago I had never heard and even now I still mispronounce them. Since this realization we have gone through a roller coaster of emotion. We are very blessed to be in the First Steps program which provides both speech and occupational therapy for him at home. We are still watching him closely to see if he may have autism but as of now it is difficult to tell. This initial blog could go on for pages into the details of the the disorders. But for now, it is a simple introduction into this wild adventure that Cruz is taking us on. Some days are good and some days are awful. But we are believing God for healing and trying to do everything possible to provide the best resources and opportunities to this funny quirky little guy. This blog will tell the story of the wonders we encounter as we grow, learn, and navigate Through The Looking Glass into Cruz's world.