Don't Stop Believin': The theme song of special needs parenthood

A year and a half ago, during an IEP meeting, I was told that Max's speech wasn't going to progress much more. Around that time, I got a report from a district speech therapist that was primarily focused on the challenges of Max's speech. It didn't say a word about his potential.

I refused to be discouraged. 

If I didn't think Max had it in him to improve, who would? 

I do not have false expectations about Max's speech. He will likely always be tricky to understand, unless you know him. Even then, it's not always possible to understand what he's saying. I am fluent in Max yet there are times when I have no idea what he is trying to tell me. 

Still, I knew that at 12 years old, his potential for progress was not tapped out. Because I am that expert known as Max's mom. I'd been seeing small improvements here and there: new words, words said a little more clearly. His speech was inching forward. 

If I didn't think Max had it in him to improve, who would? 

Consonants are the hardest for him—p, b, d, k, f, all of them. I've never heard an "f" or a "p" or a "j" or a "q." Speech therapists have coaxed b's and d's and s's out of him over the years, but they are not sounds he makes of his own volition. 

Last night, I ran an errand and called Dave before I headed home. He put Max on the phone.

"Hi, Mommy!" he said. "How are you?" For years, I was "Ohmmy," which made me perfectly happy. Recently, he's been articulating the initial "m." Two years ago, he wasn't saying "How are you?" either. 

"Hi, Fireman Max!" I said. "I'm great!" 

Then he kept telling me something that  I didn't understand so I finally said, "Max, I'll talk with you when I get home, can you put Daddy on the phone?"

And he said "OK!" The clearest "OK!" Like he'd been saying it his whole life. I had a gigantic grin on my face as I sat in our minivan in the parking lot. 

It turns out Max had been asking if I wanted to have some leftover pizza in the fridge for dinner. "Pizza" is a really hard word. 

But I will take "OK!" I will take every new word or proximity of a word or half a word or new syllable or new sound that comes out of his mouth. It is all progress. There is no deadline. 

If I don't think Max has it in him to improve, who will?