Dani Barretto is grateful to see her daughter Millie learning how to express herself more day by day.
In June 2022, Dani opened up to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) about her two-year-old daughter's speech delay.
Read also: Dani Barretto opens up about daughter Millie's speech delay
Since then, Dani has seen great improvement in her daughter Millie's communication skills, thanks to speech therapy.
"She's improving for the past six months," Dani told PEP.ph last Tuesday, August 9, 2022, in an interview during the launch of Prime Video held at The Fifth at Rockwell in Makati City.
"Better than when we started and so far, I think na ito na yun. Ito na yung makakatulong talaga sa kanya frequently."
The celebrity mom admitted to going through some moments of self-doubt when it comes to Millie's development.
She continued, "Yun nga lang, it takes a lot of patience out of you. Sometimes, you tend to blame yourself din na parang, 'May kulang ba? May hindi pa ba ako nagagawa?'
"May moments din ako na ganun. Pero my family always assures me na you've done so much more."
Dani said the current COVID-19 pandemic was one of the factors that actually contributed to her daughter's speech delay.
The celebrity mom told the press, "Yun din ang sabi sa akin, na since there's a pandemic, she wasn't able to be exposed to other kids and to other things. She was cooped up at home, e.
"Ayoko rin namang isisi sa pandemya kasi hindi ko rin naman alam, but it's a factor. It was told to us that it's a factor."
NO TIME TO BE IN DENIAL
Rather than wallowing in denial, Dani chose to address it and start her speech therapy at the soonest possible time.
She explained, "Siguro kasi, wala kasing magagawa yung in denial, e. It will just worsen the situation. If in denial ako, baka hindi pa natulungan yung anak ko, di ba?
"That's why nandiyan na yung situation, nasa sa iyo na yun kung tutulungan mo siya or, 'Hindi, okay lang iyan, tatanda rin iyan.'"
While other parents would have waited a little longer before putting their child in therapy, Dani said this wait-and-see approach isn't applicable to this kind of situation.
She explained, "Hindi, e, parang hindi ko puwedeng ganunin yun. Kasi baka sisihin ako ng anak ko pagtanda niya na, 'Bakit hindi mo ako tinulungan nung mas bata ako? Bakit wala kang ginawa?'
"Alam mo yun? Yung... Ayoko ng regrets. I don't wanna have regrets na when she's older, it's too late. Di ba?"
She believes being in denial can be detrimental to Millie's growth.
She added, "What if we could have diagnosed her early? Let's see if she's on the spectrum, which we don't know yet. If she could've been helped or developed early, di ba? E, di sana nagawa ko na.
"So sabi ko, there's no time for me to be in denial because it's very common, e. Marami talagang situations na ganito.
"It's just that this is the hand that we're dealt with and we just have to help her. Yun lang yun. That's what we can do, and prayers. Lots and lots of prayers."
LEARNING FROM OTHER PARENTS
Dani was also grateful to other moms and parents who shared tips and pieces of advice with regard to her daughter's speech delay.
"That actually gave me some comfort, that a lot of parents are actually, parang, they get what we're going through and they gave so much advice," she told PEP.ph.
"Some even gave mga tips. They even gave mga schools, they even gave mga teachers. Parang it's nice to know that there are people willing to help."
Dani continued, "It's nice to know that parang meron kang kasangga, parang merong mga taong nakaka-relate sa iyo and is going through the same journey as you and willing to help.
"Kasi, di ba, bakit mo gustong tumulong kung strangers lang sila? But they're willing, e. They actually gave so much advice.
"I actually found one good school because of that, and it's nice kasi yung mga hindi mo alam, yung help na you didn't think you need pero nakuha mo."
But Dani hoped that others would also not force her to confirm that her daughter is on the autism spectrum, especially since she continues to consult with her daughter's pediatricians about this.
"They want kasi for me to say more. They want me to say na she's on the spectrum but I can't yet, because my daughter is not yet diagnosed.
"But she's already... nakakita na siya ng [developmental pediatrician]. She's going through speech therapy and occupational therapy.
"She's going through the process already. So you can't ask me to say something na hindi pa nangyayari. Kasi hindi pa po siya diagnosed."
But if experts later diagnose Millie to be in the autism spectrum, Dani said this will not change the way she loves her daughter.
"Kung diagnosed naman yung anak ko, hindi naman ako mahihiyang aminin yun.
"Anak ko yun, kahit ano pa siya, mamahalin ko siya. But I can't say something that's not yet been said or not yet been diagnosed."
READ MORE: