And still more of Beanie's history...

So, Beanie started with physical therapy and early intervention services. As he got older and began talking, it became clear that he had difficulty with speech and language, so we added speech therapy (and there is a shortage of qualified speech therapists, at least in our area, so it took while to get him set up with a speech therapist). After an occupational therapy evaluation, it was recommended that we add some OT, as well.

Some people wonder what on earth they do in speech therapy and occupational therapy for toddlers. The answer is...play! In fact, that's what they do in all therapy for toddlers, because they have no motivation to do any of the exercises if it doesn't seem like play. OT basically works on fine motor skills and sensory development (PT covers most of the gross motor skills). Speech therapy works on oral-motor skills through blowing bubbles, making kissing noises, exercising the tongue by licking the sides of the mouth, top lip, and sticking out the tongue, and all kinds of silly activities like that. Beanie thought it was great fun!