[MyLittleWonders]

Our almost 4 year old has childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). We also strongly suspect SID/SPD, though we have never had him evaluated for it and probably won't. This past summer, we kept him out of speech therapy to give us all a much-needed break. At first, his speech showed definite regression. But, then about August, he started making big speech leaps - being able to seamlessly blend sounds in words like "truck" and "train" and even some /s/-blend words, which is *huge*. He has also seemed to make huge leaps in terms of the SID issues he has - willingly putting his whole face underwater (still on his terms but again, *huge*), not screaming when water hits his face, and wanting to be pushed on the swings (he used to scream at this ... poor guy would ask to go on the swing and the minute he would move even a teeny bit, he'd start to cry/freak out). Last night he probably swung at the playground for 15-20 minutes going about as high as his older (NT) brother. So ... I know he is making some very large cognitive growth/development.

But, in the meantime, he has also been really struggling with his behavior. He's been more aggressive and louder and screaming more. He tantrums much more easily and seems to be "set off" more easily as well. Is this somewhat normal for behavior issues to become more pronounced during periods of big growth? I'm hoping (for my sanity right now as it's coinciding with the 15 month old being very toddler-like

) that it is, but was curious if others have experienced more behavior challenges when your dc have made big growth in other areas.

 

[Iris' Mom]

Yes, I've definitely noticed this -- in both my ds1 w/ SN and my other two kids as well. There's a child behavior book series, I think it's called the Gesell Institute, that talks about periods of equilibrium and disequilibrium as children grow. When they are working on new skills, they tend to be out of sorts and have behavioral issues, and then they achieve mastery and things are more harmonious. I read them a long time ago when dd was a baby (she's now 17) and so I'm not sure how consistent I'd find it with my other beliefs now, but I thought it was interesting, and sure helped me believe there'd be a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[LauraLoo]

Yes - I've seen behavior issues coincide with developmental leaps. Usually, when things started to get wiggy, I'd be afraid of a regression, but ds seemed to push through and take 2 steps ahead. I don't quite understand why this happens, but I've seen it more than a few times.

Interesting that you mentioned that taking a break from speech and then saw huge leaps. I've seen this, too. It's almost like taking a break allowed some freedom to process and pull things together. I don't know if this works for every dc, but it definitely did with my ds.