Our First Fight...

One of the things that's always scared me the most about parenting a special needs child is what it would do to me. I know that sounds a little selfish, but pretty much all of the special needs mothers I've met have an edgy defensive to them that has developed after years of fighting everyone from the govt., to the doctors, to their own family members to ensure their children get the best care. This past week Babies Can't Wait denied my request for Andrew to get speech therapy on the grounds that he is doing "too good." Here's the thing, I always try to paint my kid in the best possible light. I feel like if he is surrounded by hope, he will do better and I'm not going to stop doing that. However, lots of Cri Du Chat children turn over at 4 months. Lots of them start eating solids at around this time too, but it doesn't change the fact that they have a difficult time communicating when they are older that results in frustration and, ultimately, self-mutilating behavior. If any of these people at Babies Can't Wait were forced to imagine their own children banging their heads against walls or picking at their skin until it bleeds, you can bet they would demand speech therapy too. It's ridiculous for trained therapist to act like 4 months is too young, too. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent researching this topic and how many parents I have spoken to that say speech therapy should start as soon as possible. This isn't about how well Andrew is doing, it's about the almighty dollar. If my private insurance covered this type of therapy, I would avoid the argument altogether, but, to my chagrin, it doesn't. It's all about money no matter where you look.