Concerns about Patch

With six kids I guess there's always something right?

Patch has always been a very sharp kid. Even as a little tiny guy he had an amazing vocabulary and ability to communicate in a really expressive way. Something that endlessly amazed both his father and I. He was quick and sharp and so very clever... and we love that here.

Over the years we've noticed a hesitancy in Patch's speech though. He doesn't speak as quickly or easily as he used to. He pauses, he repeats himself... it's as if he doesn't trust what will come out of his mouth so he speaks haltingly and with great care, perhaps overly careful even. It's something we've been noticing probably for a year or a year and a half now. We didn't think much of it really. I mean there are six kids here and it can be hard to gather your thoughts in the every day din we have here.

Then when he started first grade this year he started having to read out loud to his Dad or I every day. Just little beginner reader books, that truthfully Patch finds VERY easy to read and breezes through with no difficulty at all. He has to read us his one or two books that he brings home each day and we sign the little paper saying he read them and it takes all of maybe 10 minutes. Well, with this new reading aloud assignment we noticed Patch started to mumble... a lot. He would read in a monotone running all his words together and not speaking succinctly and often making it hard for us to understand what he was saying. Which of course in turn lead to us asking him to repeat himself fairly often. We figured it was just his rush to get through the book so he could mark it as done and be finished with his homework and didn't think much of it. Then within just a few weeks of the start of school and these reading assignments Patch started mumbling ALL the time. Now he mumbles more than he speaks clearly and truly... it's maddening. We have to ask him to repeat himself very often, and always kindly, and we can SEE that it annoys him (as well as us). What else can we do though? He runs his words together and we can't understand a word he says at times.

So we're left wondering WHAT in the world is going on with him? First the hesitating and now the mumbling. Ed says he thinks that it's like Patch has no self confidence or the belief that anyone cares what he's going to say so that he hesitates and mumbles. I don't know... maybe that's it. I'm not really sure to be honest. I can see the argument for Patch having taken a hit to his self esteem (we have issues that we have been trying to deal with for a long time about Tessa cutting him off at the knees WAY too often). I just don't know.

At this point I've put a call in to the school. I'm going to discuss this with his teacher and possibly see about getting him tested by the speech therapist at his school. Maybe they can do something to help him. Can't hurt to ask right? So we'll see where this leads us.

Patch is just such a joy. I really hope we can figure out what's going on with him and help him along to gain back his wonderful ability to talk and communicate so effectively. I know that he knows that we love and adore him, maybe we just need to find a little one on one time with him to build up his self esteem again and help him correct his speech issues with kindness and love.