The Evaluation Process of Early Intervention and IU-13

When our daughter was born we were told that she had a slight tongue tie. Her pediatrician said we could have it corrected right away while in the hospital or wait and see if any issues arise. Being new parents, we didn't know what questions to ask and we didn't want to see our new daughter in any unnecessary pain. Over the first couple months she thrived and did very well. When she was 10 months old though she developed severe allergies and asthma. For the next year it seemed as though she was always on antihistamines, steroids, inhalers, nebulizers, and other other treatments.

Around her first birthday we mentioned to her doctor that she wasn't much of a talker, but at 12 months that really isn't a big issue. We worried constantly about whether her tongue-tie could be affecting it, but we were told not to worry about it. Around her second birthday, she finally seemed to rise above her allergy and asthma problems and was doing much better. At her two year visit, we saw a different doctor and we again brought up our concern of her tongue-tie delaying her speech. This doctor gave us the name and number of an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist.

As soon as she was seen by the ENT he informed us that she had a very serious tongue-tie and he recommended having it snipped (frenulectomy). Within weeks of having the procedure done her language began to flourish and her vocabulary became quite large. When our second daughter was born we switched pediatricians due to concerns that her previous pediatrician wasn't listening to our concerns. We asked the new pediatrician when our daughter was 30 months old what we could do to find out if she needed speech therapy. We were given the number for Early Intervention, a program designed to help children 0-3 years who have delays and prepare them for preschool/kindergarten.