"How Old You Are"

"Eh old you?" he asked me.
"What?" I said. "What are you trying to say?"
"Old you are?" he said.
"How old am I?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Say, 'How old are you', Jared"
"How old you are" he replied.
"Try again. How old are you?"
"How old you are" he said again.
"Let's try this slowly. How."
"How", he echoed
"Old"
"Old", he echoed.
"Are"
"Are", he echoed.
"You"
"You", he said.
"How old are you", I said.
"How old you are", he replied.

It was my birthday. We repeated this series of words about 3 times before he made a statement that sounded like this - "Ha ode aw you".

How is that even possible? He speaks "normally". He doesn't have a speech impediment. However, you put certain words together, and suddenly he can't pronounce them? Upon all my researching, I know this is classic APD and/or dyslexia.

Let me tell you. It's sobering. Your kid is doing great in school, at memorization.... you feel like your prayers are being answered and this life-long disability is fading away or even, by miracle, disappearing. Then, you realize he can't even say, "How old are you".

The next day, my husband returned from out of town and I was eager to show him. "Jared, Jared. Say, 'how old are you'". Ray and I looked at him, and he replied... just as perfectly as can be... "how old are you." What? Wait. Wait. Wait. "Say it again, Jared". Again, he repeated it perfectly. There was no speech problem. It was perfect. Ray looked at me, quizzically. I said, "He couldn't say it yesterday!"

Ah, the mysteries.... 

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. " Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)