When we first got home, Kate was evaluated at the International Adoption Clinic. She was evaluated for gross and fine motor skills, speech delays, and general health, including extensive lab work. Speech was really the only issue that was identified as being problematic. When we entered the early intervention program, she was evaluated again. Speech was identified as an issue, which we expected, and she was borderline for something they called developmental intervention. This is kind of a general term for her social interaction with others. Specifically, there was concern over whether her play was age appropriate. At the time, she looked at toys as if she had never seen one before. (In fact, we know that her orphanage did not have toys except the play yard outside, but we have no information about her foster care.) She didn't push cars around, hold baby dolls, color, or any of the things that 2 year olds should be doing. We were concerned, but the person evaluating Kate told us that if she wasn't doing these things in 6 months, we would re-evaluate her and she could receive intervention.
Thankfully (Praise God), her play is right on target now. She plays cars. She rocks her babies and feeds them and puts them to bed. She has pretend conversations between her toys, which is way too cute. No one can understand them, but she has a blast. We owe much of this progress to the boys, specifically Will. She spends a lot of time with Will, and one day I mentioned to Will that Kate didn't know how to play. I went and got into the shower, and when I came back to check on them, they were sitting on her bed together. Will was showing her how to hold and feed the baby doll. Shortly after this, she got some kitchen toys for Christmas. She started fixing me food with her pots and pans and serving it up on plates. And she has grown by leaps and bounds since then. She even pretends that random household objects can talk to each other now. Her imagination is in full swing. Who knew I would be so thrilled with such everyday blessings?
She still loves to help me in the kitchen. I have always thought that she must have spent time helping her foster mom in the kitchen, because she has always loved to play in the dishwater, set the table, mix things in a bowl, etc. She loves to have a job.
Finally, a speech update... I mentioned that we were working on 2 word signing combinations, but she wasn't interested. Today she started speaking in 2 word combinations. She said things like, "Hello, Mama. Mama eye. Mame woe (nose). Mama mow (mouth)." She was pointing to my eyes, nose, and mouth. She is soooo much fun!
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