Meet Ivar: Patient Success Story

Spiderman, well, Ivar, as he is known by his family when he is not in superhero mode, had his parents and pediatrician concerned about his communication skills at his two-year-old check-up, so they decided that even superheroes need help every once in a while, and made a referral for speech therapy. Ivar was becoming frustrated as he was limited to only a few, single words, making expressing his needs/wants difficult. His parents also noticed that he did not understand simple requests, so they sought services with another superhero, well, speech therapist, Delia.

Delia created a plan of care that focused on receptive and expressive language and involved Ivar’s parents and older sister to assure success. Together, they created meaningful goals for the family, and his mother participated in every session. They also collaborated with Delia to figure out strategies that would work within their home between visits to support steady progress. Ivar loves building tracks and playing with cars, which Delia used to motivate him and make therapy sessions fun! Initially, Ivar had two speech therapy sessions per week, but as he quickly progressed and his family was successful with a home exercise program, his sessions were decreased to one per week. Once he developed a larger vocabulary and was able to use word combinations to express himself, Delia focused on making sure he could be understood even by those unfamiliar with his speech. His family was instrumental in his success with this, as they learned to slow their rate of speech, which Ivar would imitate. Now, if he is talking to someone and they can’t understand him, he knows to slow down to make sure he is clear, allowing him to communicate with those outside his home.

Ivar made great progress in speech therapy and has now been discharged, which means he can get back to his duties as Spiderman! He is now able to not only communicate his wants/needs but also engage in conversations about his interests and his day. Because of this, his parents feel comfortable with Ivar enrolling in pre-school, where he can learn, grow, and make new friends.