Trust the Mommy gut

When my son was just 5 months old I noticed his milestones were not being met. Now, I know that every child has a different timeline, a different maturity and different development level, but I had a gut reaction that something wasn't right. He seemed to not be able to use or even activate his muscle control (nor did he seem like he was trying). I tried to brush it off as a mother of 2 that just wanted to love my kids, and not worry so much. But, as the months went by there were more signs that told me my boy was not developing the way he should. At 15mths. he had no language skills (aside from "Ada" his phrase for everything with different intonation. "A...DA! or "AAAA da". "He'll talk eventually, don't worry" my friends stated. "Every child is different" another replied. I couldn't shake it, and now my son was becoming frustrated and without pointing would just scream and cry sitting on the floor (no crawling or walking in sight). We decided to get early intervention involved and he was screened. It was confirmed, he was behind not only in speaking but also in understanding. His comprehension was that of an 8mth. old. He didn't turn for his name, he didn't recognize himself in the mirror and his oral motor was delayed.
Keep in mind, he was still a happy boy for most of the time, he did make eye contact on his own terms and he loved his brother and all the efforts to play with him was received. He just seemed to struggle to eat (shoved food in his mouth, but not properly chew) and drink (biting on cups, straws instead of sucking). He started speech therapy and we realized that his tongue was under developed and under utilized. Once we started exercising his tongue he started to speak (close to 18mths), and after that started to walk. It seemed like he could understand one thing after he had mastered another.
He still struggled to understand, and often screamed when he didn't have the words, but progress was being made. We thought, we have this under control! He is going to be just fine, and honestly, looking back 9 years I wasn't too far off, but a lot of work and therapy has come in between those days and now. He graduated out of speech therapy at almost age 3 and his program would no longer be available to offer services (specially his sensory integration group that provided fun sensory input).
My boy seemed to be doing well, aside from the 2 hour bedtime of massage, joint compression, swinging him stretching him to help him calm down to go to sleep. He didn't sleep through the night, but at least only once into our bed was better than several times.
What I didn't know then, and I do know now is that I would become fully immersed into a world of sensory integration (using sensory things to help my sensory seeking boy feel grounded and safe). I am still learning, but if you are in the same boat and you are in the beginning of your journey my hope is that you will not have to learn these hard lessons I learned when it's too late.
Most importantly-listen to your mommy gut, chances are, you are right, and your little one needs you to fight for them, because they can't.