Counting On’s Jessa Duggar Shares Update on Son Henry’s Speech Progress: ‘He’s Back on Track’
Making progress! Counting On star Jessa Seewald (née Duggar) and her husband, Ben Seewald, shared an update on their son Henry’s development after revealing the 3-year-old experienced “speech delays.”
“He wasn’t really talking when he turned 2, but you’ll see some of that speech journey of his this season and just how he’s developing and growing,” Jessa, 27, told Us Weekly.
Now, Henry has been able to overcome his setbacks and is doing well in his language skills. “We’re very thankful that he’s back on track,” the Arkansas native added. “[It’s a] huge encouragement for us as parents, because we were nervous for quite a while, [thinking], ‘I guess you’re going to catch up.’ So he had an evaluation when he turned 3. And so that’s exciting.”
The TLC star first revealed Henry’s struggle with speech in an episode of Counting On during season 10. While she understood most children progress at different paces, Henry had not hit certain milestones at the same age his older brother, Spurgeon did. “He’s not really able to talk and communicate what he wants. A lot of the times, it’s just grunts and pointing and that kind of thing,” she during a confessional.
Jessa and Ben, 25, brought Henry to their family doctor who checked out the toddler and found he didn’t have any hearing loss. They also learned he did not have any developmental issues, and that he was only experiencing delays in his speech. That’s when they decided to see a speech pathologist.
The mom of three — she also shares son Spurgeon, 4, and daughter Ivy, 13 months with Ben — shared an update on Henry’s progress in March. “Henry went from practically no words on his [second] birthday, to being caught up now as he’s turning 3! [We’re] praising the Lord for this answer to our prayers,” she told a fan via Instagram.
As for the couple’s other children, they’ve also reached developmental milestones recently. Spurgeon and Henry are both being potty trained, and Ivy is already walking, running and speaking. “She is saying new words every day. She loves to say food words because she’s very interested in food now,” Jessa says. “She loves all kinds of foods.”
Season 11 of Counting On premieres on TLC on Tuesday, July 7, at 8 p.m. ET.
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