ArcaMax

Dear Annie: Over the years, I have worked in day care centers for 2-year-olds, and my husband is a speech therapist. I have a family friend who is raising a 2-year-old from the community. We see their child continuously and think that he is behind developmentally, especially in speech.

They could hypothetically wait until he is old enough to go to school and, hopefully, the school figures it out, but I have worked with those who have special needs and know that the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome.

The only issue is how to tell the mom that we think they should apply for speech therapy without freaking them out that their child is behind. I just know that with all of these therapies, it may help this child in the future for success. He is an only child. -- Family Friend

Dear Family Friend: I would make doubly sure that you are correct in your diagnosis before you speak with your friend, but once you do, tell your friend your thoughts about the toddler's speech. You and your husband could even offer to help out while you find a good professional, assuming she is up for that. Friends tell friends the truth even if it is difficult. If she is truly a good friend, she will appreciate that you helped her get early intervention.

Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very Happy Passover and Happy Earth Day.

Below is a poem by a great lover of nature, Henry David Thoreau.

"O Nature! I do not aspire / To be the highest in thy quire, -- / To be a meteor in the sky, / Or comet that may range on high; / Only a zephyr that may blow / Among the reeds by the river low; / Give me thy most privy place / Where to run my airy race. / In some withdrawn, unpublic mead / Let me sigh upon a reed, / Or in the woods, with leafy din, / Whisper the still evening in: / Some still work give me to do, -- / Only -- be it near to you! / For I'd rather be thy child / And pupil, in the forest wild, / Than be the king of men elsewhere, / And most sovereign slave of care: / To have one moment of thy dawn, / Than share the city's year forlorn."

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"How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?" is out now! Annie Lane's second anthology -- featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.