If you aren’t familiar with Denver Options they are a Human Services agency serving Colorado. They have so many wonderful services for people in need for ALL ages.
Here is a list of what they do:
- Children with developmental delays and disabilities
- Adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities
- Adults who live with the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Military Personnel and Veterans who return from Iraq&Afghanistan with a TBI
- Veterans who are homeless or in jeopardy of losing their homes
- Families who are striving to break the cycle of poverty
- Professionals who seek to create meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual challenges
You really have to check out their website to get a better feel for what they do and how they serve people or can help your family.
Now I am sure you are wondering why I am telling you about them? Right?
My daughter turned 2 at the end of april and she doesn’t talk. Well she talks, but it sounds like a foreign language. There are a handful of words she uses on a regular basis and random words she says and then I don’t hear them again for days or weeks. I’ve tried getting her to tell me what she wants before I will give it to her or telling her what something is and having her try to repeat me, but it never seems to work.
When we went to her 2 year check up the Doctor mentioned she wanted our daughter to have a speech and hearing test since she should be talking by now. She told me about Denver Options and gave me the info on how to contact them and when we got home I did. The person over the phone took my info and said someone would be in touch with me within 45 days. The next day I got a call from our new case worker and she set up an appointment to come to our house to get us started.
The thing I love about Denver Options is they work around your schedule. They come to your house for appointments and it makes it so convenient. When my son was little he had speech problems and when I tried to get him speech therapy it was such a pain because you had to go to a facility during working hours and I couldn’t do that since I had to work full time.
To me the process with Denver Options has been very quick. My Doctor warned me that it would be up to 45 days before I even met a case worker. Maybe we just got lucky, but like I said the case worked called the next day and I was able schedule a hearing and speech test within two weeks of making the call. I was expecting it to be much longer before my daughter could even be evaluated.
Yesterday we took our daughter for her hearing test and speech test. The hearing test was very quick and they confirmed what I already knew, that she hears just fine. Her speech test was later in the day and it was about 45 minutes. They took her into a room and let her play with toys while trying to get her to talk. Of course she was shy and wouldn’t talk with them, but they could tell that she did have speech issues. They determined that EVERYTHING for her is advanced, except for her speech. They said her speech has the development of a 15 month old and she is almost 26 months.
Through Denver Options we will receive speech therapy once a week for an hour in our home. All of it is free through the state, regardless of income. Did I mention them come to your HOME? I love this! If you work and your child is in daycare then they will go to the daycare center for speech lessons.
The people who I have worked with so far have been so nice and helpful and I can’t wait to see who they send us for speech lessons. Hopefully we hear back quickly from our case worker with an assigned speech therapist so we can get this little monster talking!
If you have a child with learning disabilities or delays talk to your doctor or call Denver options. You don’t need a referral to call Denver options. If you feel your child needs an evaluation then they will give it to you free of cost!
Once speech therapy starts I plan on doing a weekly update on how our daughters progress is going, things we learned, and ways that you can help your child. I want to share with you the things I learn so you can help your child and if you have any tips for me, please let me know!
