Why Joy-Anna Duggar Is Worried About Her Son
The long-running "19 Kids and Counting" franchise is history now, but the members of the infamous Duggar family carry on. Like many of her adult siblings, Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth is married and has children of her own — 3-year-old Gideon and 1-year-old Evelyn. Her Instagram feed is full of precious mom moments, like visits to pumpkin patches and aquariums, birthdays, camping trips, and sibling hugs. However, what the pictures don't show is that Joy-Anna has been quietly wrestling with a concern that many parents can relate to.
In a recent addition to her YouTube channel, Joy-Anna shared her fear that Gideon may have some speech delays. "For a few months, I've had a few concerns about his learning," Joy-Anna says, explaining that she's noticed Gideon doesn't speak quite as fluently as his peers and that he doesn't know numbers despite his home lessons. In the video, she reveals that her sister Jessa's son, Henry, got early intervention because "he was a little bit behind," and the therapy helped so much that Joy-Anna decided to have Gideon undergo an evaluation at the same clinic.
The video takes viewers into the Regional Therapy Services clinic, where therapists explain Gideon's screening results to Joy-Anna. To her relief, she learns that her son's fine motor skills are on target and his spoken vocabulary is "really great." However, they explain he could use some "sharpening up" at speaking in complete sentences, because he scored slightly low for his age.
Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth hopes her experience will help other moms
Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth got so much valuable information from her son's developmental screening that she posted a follow-up video. Here, she learns her possible options, which are having 3-year-old Gideon undergo a more comprehensive screening to get a fuller picture of his language skills, trying some strategies at home to improve his speech, or using both approaches along with regular home visits by a speech therapist.
Joy-Anna agrees that she wants to work out a plan of action, and says she'll talk to her husband, Austin, about next steps. In her video description, she wrote, "I am so thankful we took him in and were able to see where he is at and pinpoint what areas we need to work on. I wanted to post this ... for all of the moms out there that may not know that these services are available or that want to know more about what [an] evaluation test is and how it helps."
Fans flooded the "Counting On" star's comment section with praise. An early intervention specialist said, "I just wanted to commend you! You're doing the best thing you can do getting him help early on. Bonus points for documenting and sharing to help and educate. You're doing great." A fellow mom related on a very personal level: "I'm a Mama as well going through the process of getting my little one the help she needs. It is SO nice to not go through it alone. Thank you for sharing."