Rudy Elias began therapy in April 2022 due to concerns about his limited speech and feeding. He was not speaking at all but could comprehend and follow instructions. As for his feeding, Elias was a very picky eater, as well as having significant food allergies: limiting his food variety and consumption.
Elias began therapy with Karen Lin weekly, centered around his speech and feeding delays. Karen initiated his speech progress by getting Elias to imitate animal noises- used as an attempt to get him to make sounds. Slowly, they worked together (in combination with in-therapy and at-home work) towards whole words such as ball, dada, my turn, etc. using both signs and words.
As Elias was speaking more, concern with his articulation arose. He would omit initial consonant sounds when attempting to imitate sounds or form words. He continued work with Karen to develop more everyday words as he learned different sounds and how to pronounce them. Through his hard work in therapy, Elias has gotten up to over 100 words in his vocabulary!
As for Rudy Elias feeding concerns, his parents were aiming to get Elias interested in eating a variety of foods such as avocados and vegetables. They worked on learning new strategies with Karen to increase his willingness to try new foods. Elias also began a Mother’s Day out Program, which helped him try different foods in various environments. He eventually became more comfortable with new foods in both home and outside environments.
Due to health concerns, Elias’ therapy ceased, and went on to solely case management. His parents continued to work on strategies they learned in therapy regarding speech and feeding. Elias returned for his yearly evaluation, to asses his development, and showed no more delays in any area! He had very limited consonant delays and was eating great. As of April 2023, Rudy Elias is a proud graduate of The Warren Center!