Is more better?

Speech therapy and aural habilitation are now art of our lives. I try to integrate the things the therapists are teaching me into daily life, so we are doing a lot of sing song, and repeating and emphasizing certain sounds. My challenge right now is finding which therapy approach resonates with me and engages Peter. We have the weekly visits with our Early Start teacher, the weekly teletherapy sessions which are part of a free pilot program, now weekly sessions with the specialist paid for by insurance (mostly paid for, still a $15 co-pay, which adds up with 50 visits/year), and then in the fall adding in classes a couple times a week and still going to the school for the deaf when we can....and I want to add in a Music Together class, too!

With Peter being kid number three the scheduled sessions/classes ARE a way to make sure he is getting at least an hour a day of focused time, but will it all drive us crazy? Will the different people and their approaches work harmoniously or at cross-purposes? My goal is mainstream school by kindergarten, my hope is mainstream by preschool- but I don't know what the right mix is to get us there.

This week we are trying to focus on "mmm", "p", and "b". I can sing songs and rhyme words and alliterate 'til I am blue in the face, but trying to get my kid to sit down and repeat what I am saying has so far been beyond me. Some suggestions were to have a bunch of boats and a tub of water, try saying "buh, buh, buh" and waiting for Peter to attempt some vocalization before giving him a boat, then repeat. I will gamely try this. My prediction: splashing will be fun, and he won't give a hoot about the boat. I was also given the idea to give balls to roll in a tube/ramp- the balls can be "b" or any sound we are focusing on, say the sound, wait, if there is any kind of response he gets a ball.  I know Peter will like this, but I bet he will go looking for the first ball instead of trying to get a second. I am also supposed to keep working on presence vs absence of sound with toys in boxes. This sort of works, but unless I find a sterile room with NO other toys Peter will not focus for long. And there aren't any rooms in my house that have zero toys ;)

Sound reaction notes: sneezing behind Peter freaked him out, as did the hair dryer. These weren't on purpose, of course, and once I showed them what it was he was ok. A couple toys that had crunching or revving noises scared him, too, but in general he just seems more engaged. He loves his noisy crazy sisters, too!