Cat got your tongue

This is another marker, so I remember to write about the latest adventure in our lives. In spite of being told by a number of people that it's normal for Maus to be a bit behind in speaking -- as he has to process two languages -- I some time ago began to notice that he doesn't just have trouble producing words, he has trouble producing several consonant sounds. I did try to keep my wits about me and not start a family ruckus, but it was becoming evident that there might in fact be a problem. When Ola's best friend and her husband came here three weeks ago, they did us a huge favour by asking questions about Maus's inability to talk meaningfully. He is very good at expressing himself, but without the correct words, a bit like my efforts in Polish.

So, finally, we took him to a speech expert earlier this week. She gave him several little tests -- very playful and noninvasive -- and then concluded that he has a tongue that is attached too far forward in his mouth, making several sounds impossible for him to produce. I'd heard of this phenomenon;apparently it's not uncommon and can be easily fixed. Thank God. Maneuvoring through the Polish medical bureaucracy is not so easy -- a total bummer. But we'll get there -- perhaps by the end of next week.

Maus will also soon be starting nursery school soon. We found two good ones in our area, and have chosen the more structured one of the two, because Maus needs more structure in his life. He gets plenty of "license" at home. More on that when I have time to go back and fill in all these ""stubs," as Wikipedia calls them.