In case you haven't heard, I really like Jack's new plastic surgeon. He is bright, young, and enthusiastic.
And he cracked me up.
Early on in the appointment he commented that I had my hands full with Kate and Jack. I laughed and said that this was only half of the crew. He shook his head and made the standard "Oh, you are such saints," comment. This comment makes me crazy. Anyone who has said this to me in real life knows that I always answer, "No, we aren't saints. We are just doing what we want to do - parenting kids."
He must have seen it on my face (everything I think shows on my face). To answer him I started out, "No, we aren't saints," and he interrupted me with a smile and said, "Oh, so it's just poor impulse control then."
And I laughed. "Yes, exactly!" Because that is exactly my brand of sarcastic, dry humor.
So I have decided that this may be my new answer when someone tells me what I saint I am. "No, I just have really bad impulse control." Then I will shake my head and walk away.
As if you could adopt a kid on a whim. An impulse.
I am cracking up just thinking about it. Hehe.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Appointments, Part 7: ENTs (and Plastic Surgery Revisited)
I have had messages from several of you about what a bad, bad blogger I have been. During the summer Tim is gone a lot with the church youth, and I am doing the single parent thing. Plus, the kids are home with me all day, which means by the time they drop into bed at night, I am to tired to process a coherent thought. I thought about writing this morning because I didn't have anything on my schedule. But then I spent an hour scheduling doctor's appointments for five different people. Good times.
Anyway, on to the point of this post. ENTs and plastic surgery. Now you may be wondering why I am talking about plastic surgery again, when I just talked about plastic surgery two months ago.
Well, after Jack saw the Commission doctors, we saw the ENT that did Kate's first set of tubes, thinking that he would do Jack's too. Sure enough, he was willing to work with Dr. Andy to do them at the same time as the palate repair, but he was unwilling to do the sedated ABR (hearing test) the same day. He said he really preferred to do the the tubes and ABR first, and then let them do the palate repair later.
I nicely told him that if he was unwilling that I would have to take Jack to the other major hospital in town (that Kate is now a patient of) and let them do it all over there.
Suddenly he was a willing participant.
Fine. So I spent the next two weeks playing phone tag with the ENT's surgical coordinator and Dr. Andy's surgical coordinator, trying to get them to work together. They finally called me back with a date in the middle of August.
Fine. So then the next day I got a call from the Commission (remember how much I love them, she says sarcastically) telling me that Jack cannot get the sedated ABR done at this particular hospital because they (the Commission) don't have an audiologist contracted over there. They wanted me to go ahead and have the tubes and palate done, and then have a non-sedated ABR done in their office at a later date.
Fine. So I spent the next 24 hours mulling over all of this, and I realized that we were talking about something that was still more than two months away. I then I realized that this was more than enough time to research other options. Because at this point, I was fed up beyond belief at having to argue with the Commission, argue with a doctor, and play phone tag for weeks on end.
So, being me, I went into research mode again. I go to the Rumor Queen boards. I go to the Adopt Cleft Yahoo boards. I call people I know locally. And I learned I had a couple of really excellent options at that other hospital across town (where Kate sees her ENT). So I made the call to the Commission to request an appointment with the physicians over there. Of course, they wanted me to wait and go through clinic again.
In August or September.
No, we just went through clinic in May. I am not waiting until August or September. I want to go to their offices and see them there. Now.
And so we spent last Wednesday at that other hospital seeing Dr. V, the ENT, and Dr. L, the plastic surgeon.
Dr. V was very nice. She took what little history we had and agreed that Jack probably needs tubes placed. She explained that because it is such a minor procedure and the palate repair is a much more complicated surgery, that the palate repair would be scheduled first, and then whatever ENT in their practice was at the hospital that day would do the tubes. Since we are already in there so often and I know how they work, I am comfortable with that.
Then we went downstairs to see Dr. L. Now, every time I asked for recommendations for Dr. L, people would say, "Oh, he is the fireball. You will love him." And then they would go on to tell me how he pours himself into his patients, staying on top of the latest techniques, and is just eager to do his best every single day.
He did not disappoint. We saw his student first (SOP at this teaching hospital), and then Dr. L came in without a white coat. Ie, he didn't terrify Jack right off the bat. He takes a bit of history, looks at his palate, explains to me structurally why Jack's left ear is a little different from the right one, notices the stitch that has been in his lip since that repair in March 2011. He tells me that he doesn't use no-nos on kids this old and that Jack doesn't have to be weaned from his soft-spout sippy. He notices Kate, asks if he could look at her palate repair. Kate says no, but I try to persuade her. He stops me and says, "No, that's ok if she doesn't want to." Ie, he cares about how patients feel, even when it isn't his patient.
Then he told me that his surgical coordinator was on vacation all week, but that he knew he had an opening on August 28 so if we could get it all coordinated that it would probably be that day. I am sorry, but I have never known a surgeon to have a clue what their schedule looks like a month out with a coordinator telling them. Wow.
Then he gave me his personal email address (in case I thought of any other questions) and his personal secretary's phone number (in case I couldn't get him via email). Again, never had a surgeon do that before.
Oh, and we were in and out in just over 25 minutes (not counting new patient paperwork) and spent about 20 minutes of it with him. Again, a record.
So, all that long story, just to say that we now have a new plastic surgeon and a new ENT. Still waiting on the final details, but it looks like they will do the repair, the tubes, and the ABR all at the same time, and Jack will spend the night at the hospital . I am feeling good about the whole thing, whereas I had a bad feeling about everything over at the other place, what with the arguing and such. Those other docs are good physicians/surgeons, I like the other hospital fine, but I think that this is a good place for Jack right now.
Posts (so far) about Jack's cleft/developmental/IA issues:
Anyway, on to the point of this post. ENTs and plastic surgery. Now you may be wondering why I am talking about plastic surgery again, when I just talked about plastic surgery two months ago.
Well, after Jack saw the Commission doctors, we saw the ENT that did Kate's first set of tubes, thinking that he would do Jack's too. Sure enough, he was willing to work with Dr. Andy to do them at the same time as the palate repair, but he was unwilling to do the sedated ABR (hearing test) the same day. He said he really preferred to do the the tubes and ABR first, and then let them do the palate repair later.
I nicely told him that if he was unwilling that I would have to take Jack to the other major hospital in town (that Kate is now a patient of) and let them do it all over there.
Suddenly he was a willing participant.
Fine. So I spent the next two weeks playing phone tag with the ENT's surgical coordinator and Dr. Andy's surgical coordinator, trying to get them to work together. They finally called me back with a date in the middle of August.
Fine. So then the next day I got a call from the Commission (remember how much I love them, she says sarcastically) telling me that Jack cannot get the sedated ABR done at this particular hospital because they (the Commission) don't have an audiologist contracted over there. They wanted me to go ahead and have the tubes and palate done, and then have a non-sedated ABR done in their office at a later date.
Fine. So I spent the next 24 hours mulling over all of this, and I realized that we were talking about something that was still more than two months away. I then I realized that this was more than enough time to research other options. Because at this point, I was fed up beyond belief at having to argue with the Commission, argue with a doctor, and play phone tag for weeks on end.
So, being me, I went into research mode again. I go to the Rumor Queen boards. I go to the Adopt Cleft Yahoo boards. I call people I know locally. And I learned I had a couple of really excellent options at that other hospital across town (where Kate sees her ENT). So I made the call to the Commission to request an appointment with the physicians over there. Of course, they wanted me to wait and go through clinic again.
In August or September.
No, we just went through clinic in May. I am not waiting until August or September. I want to go to their offices and see them there. Now.
And so we spent last Wednesday at that other hospital seeing Dr. V, the ENT, and Dr. L, the plastic surgeon.
Dr. V was very nice. She took what little history we had and agreed that Jack probably needs tubes placed. She explained that because it is such a minor procedure and the palate repair is a much more complicated surgery, that the palate repair would be scheduled first, and then whatever ENT in their practice was at the hospital that day would do the tubes. Since we are already in there so often and I know how they work, I am comfortable with that.
Then we went downstairs to see Dr. L. Now, every time I asked for recommendations for Dr. L, people would say, "Oh, he is the fireball. You will love him." And then they would go on to tell me how he pours himself into his patients, staying on top of the latest techniques, and is just eager to do his best every single day.
He did not disappoint. We saw his student first (SOP at this teaching hospital), and then Dr. L came in without a white coat. Ie, he didn't terrify Jack right off the bat. He takes a bit of history, looks at his palate, explains to me structurally why Jack's left ear is a little different from the right one, notices the stitch that has been in his lip since that repair in March 2011. He tells me that he doesn't use no-nos on kids this old and that Jack doesn't have to be weaned from his soft-spout sippy. He notices Kate, asks if he could look at her palate repair. Kate says no, but I try to persuade her. He stops me and says, "No, that's ok if she doesn't want to." Ie, he cares about how patients feel, even when it isn't his patient.
Then he told me that his surgical coordinator was on vacation all week, but that he knew he had an opening on August 28 so if we could get it all coordinated that it would probably be that day. I am sorry, but I have never known a surgeon to have a clue what their schedule looks like a month out with a coordinator telling them. Wow.
Then he gave me his personal email address (in case I thought of any other questions) and his personal secretary's phone number (in case I couldn't get him via email). Again, never had a surgeon do that before.
Oh, and we were in and out in just over 25 minutes (not counting new patient paperwork) and spent about 20 minutes of it with him. Again, a record.
So, all that long story, just to say that we now have a new plastic surgeon and a new ENT. Still waiting on the final details, but it looks like they will do the repair, the tubes, and the ABR all at the same time, and Jack will spend the night at the hospital . I am feeling good about the whole thing, whereas I had a bad feeling about everything over at the other place, what with the arguing and such. Those other docs are good physicians/surgeons, I like the other hospital fine, but I think that this is a good place for Jack right now.
Posts (so far) about Jack's cleft/developmental/IA issues:
- Let the Appointments Begin!
- Appointments, Part 2: Audiology
- Appointments, Part 3: Plastic Surgeons
- Appointments, Part 4: The Dentist
- Appointments, Part 5: Early Intervention
- Appointments, Part 6: Speech
- Surgery
- ???
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Dear Jack,
I feel like you and I are still getting to know each other... there are still so many things I want to know about you! But at the same time, I feel like I have learned a lot in the last three months. And with knowing you better, comes loving you more.
I love the way that you run across a room, arms open wide to greet me with a hug and a kiss, even though you just hugged me a minute and a half ago.
I love the way you grin at me when you know that I understand that you want more milk.
I love it when I am laying down in your bed with you and you lean over and give me a kiss. I also love it when you put your sweet little hand on my cheek.
I love how you work so hard to learn new things. Like yesterday, you were determined to pick up that toy hamburger with your toy spatula and put it in the pan. You would scream every time you dropped it, but then you would pick it up and try it again. And eventually you did it, and you were so proud of yourself.
I love how you are starting to sign more and more. You can sign "more" and "milk" fairly well, but we are still working on "water" and "eat". I am confident that you are going to do it. You are determined, and so am I.
I love that you will eat almost anything I put in front you. As long as the person next to you doesn't have something different. If they do, you want their food instead.
I love how you play independently. You can play with your cars or your blocks for several minutes at a time. You want me in the room (and would prefer it if I were playing with you), but you can do this while I wash dishes or fold laundry.
I love how you are starting to trust me. Sometimes you might be scared, but when you are in my arms your fears seem to melt away a bit. I am glad you are learning that I will keep you safe.
I love it when you walk with your hands behind your back. You look like a little old man. It is the cutest thing I ever saw.
I love being your mama. And I love that you are starting to call me that.
I love the way that you run across a room, arms open wide to greet me with a hug and a kiss, even though you just hugged me a minute and a half ago.
I love the way you grin at me when you know that I understand that you want more milk.
I love it when I am laying down in your bed with you and you lean over and give me a kiss. I also love it when you put your sweet little hand on my cheek.
I love how you work so hard to learn new things. Like yesterday, you were determined to pick up that toy hamburger with your toy spatula and put it in the pan. You would scream every time you dropped it, but then you would pick it up and try it again. And eventually you did it, and you were so proud of yourself.
I love how you are starting to sign more and more. You can sign "more" and "milk" fairly well, but we are still working on "water" and "eat". I am confident that you are going to do it. You are determined, and so am I.
I love that you will eat almost anything I put in front you. As long as the person next to you doesn't have something different. If they do, you want their food instead.
I love how you play independently. You can play with your cars or your blocks for several minutes at a time. You want me in the room (and would prefer it if I were playing with you), but you can do this while I wash dishes or fold laundry.
I love how you are starting to trust me. Sometimes you might be scared, but when you are in my arms your fears seem to melt away a bit. I am glad you are learning that I will keep you safe.
I love it when you walk with your hands behind your back. You look like a little old man. It is the cutest thing I ever saw.
I love being your mama. And I love that you are starting to call me that.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
My Sweet Ben
Last week we celebrated Ben's 10th birthday.
TEN. That's double digits, people.
(He adores all things Harry Potter and Star Wars. It was a close contest for whose face would get to grace his birthday cake. )
Excuse me while I get a little choked up and take a walk down memory lane...
Ben,
You are one of the kindest, smartest, funniest people I know. You love to read and write and draw and build Legos. I am so proud of your creativity and your persistence. You are a good friend and a great big brother, and you are loved by everyone who knows you. I adore your quirky sense of humor and generous heart. I love you even more than I did 10 years ago. I am so thankful that I get to be your mama.
I love you,
Mom
TEN. That's double digits, people.
Excuse me while I get a little choked up and take a walk down memory lane...
Ben,
You are one of the kindest, smartest, funniest people I know. You love to read and write and draw and build Legos. I am so proud of your creativity and your persistence. You are a good friend and a great big brother, and you are loved by everyone who knows you. I adore your quirky sense of humor and generous heart. I love you even more than I did 10 years ago. I am so thankful that I get to be your mama.
I love you,
Mom
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Where We Are
My life right now is a lot like having a three month old in the house who can walk. He can't communicate his needs, which means he cries a lot. He isn't feeling very well and is having some sleeping issues, which means Tim and I aren't sleeping much. Add to that that he wants to be held all of the time, and when he is not he is following me around the house. That is my life.
(Which means there is not a lot of down time right now for writing. Don't be surprised if this lacks coherence. I may have to hit Publish without proofreading.)
Thankfully I have a lot of gracious friends and relatives who are helping lots with the big kids. They have already been on more trips and adventures this summer than I could count on one hand - church camp, the lake, my aunt's, my uncle Ricky's pool, plus our family vacation to North Carolina with Tim's family. At the moment Kate is at the movies with my mom, and the boys are on an adventure with my dad and Jee in San Diego.
Jack is thankfully taking a nap, but every few minutes he cries in his sleep. I should probably be napping too, considering how little sleep I got last night, but these moments alone are few and far between. I feel the need to hoard them, doing small things that I enjoy rather than the laundry that is waiting for me downstairs.
I also feel the need to attempt to express something about our family dynamics at the moment. (Other than the fact that I keep shipping my kids off.) Jack seems to have decided that Kate NaNa is his buddy. When I am otherwise occupied she helps him go up and down the stairs, she helps him put on his pjs, and she can find his bottle and other beloved comfort items. However, she is not without jealousy. She occasionally drinks out of his bottle herself and wears his bibs.
The boys love him, but they are often loud and in his face. Which means that Jack thinks that he should scream at them anytime they get near him. Which means that they think that he doesn't like them because he is always screaming at them. I have tried to explain the circular logic at work here and how they can change this dynamic. Ben is starting to pick up on how to handle Jack gently. Will (typically The Baby Whisperer) is just mad that Jack doesn't adore him the same way other small children do.
Jack and I are still very much trying to figure each other out. I don't think I have a full grasp of what this transition will eventually look like because I am still smack-dab in the middle of it, desperate for a hot meal and a full eight hours. Someday maybe I will sit down and put the right words to it, but for now this feeble attempt will have to do.
The first month together was the honeymoon period. The second month together was reality hitting him (and us) in the face that this was going to be harder than we thought. We really had to back up and focus on Jack's needs and attachment.
This past month has been a dance where we move two steps forward and one step back. Which thankfully adds up to more steps forward than back, but is still a lot of extra steps. As I said earlier, he wants me to hold him, wants me near him, and seeks me out for comfort. And all of this is very good and necessary work that needs to go on in our relationship. But in the next minute he will refuse to let me help him, throw a toy at me, and then look miserable that I have no idea what he is trying to tell me. Also very normal behavior.
But that doesn't mean that I am not exhausted. I am tired. Unless you are a doctor's office, I have done a terrible job at returning your emails and phone calls. I haven't read a good book or my favorite blogs in weeks because there is no alone time, and I really need to be present with my kids when they are with me anyway, especially in this time when all four of my kids are so very needy of my attention and time.
Tim and I have a friend who likes to say, "Four is a challenge." I used to laugh when he said it, but those are the truest words in my life right now. Learning this new dance of being a family of six is fun and exciting, but I am doing a lot of tripping over my own feet at the moment. Thank you to everyone who is blessing us with the space on the dance floor to work out the moves. I think I will get it eventually.
(Which means there is not a lot of down time right now for writing. Don't be surprised if this lacks coherence. I may have to hit Publish without proofreading.)
Thankfully I have a lot of gracious friends and relatives who are helping lots with the big kids. They have already been on more trips and adventures this summer than I could count on one hand - church camp, the lake, my aunt's, my uncle Ricky's pool, plus our family vacation to North Carolina with Tim's family. At the moment Kate is at the movies with my mom, and the boys are on an adventure with my dad and Jee in San Diego.
Jack is thankfully taking a nap, but every few minutes he cries in his sleep. I should probably be napping too, considering how little sleep I got last night, but these moments alone are few and far between. I feel the need to hoard them, doing small things that I enjoy rather than the laundry that is waiting for me downstairs.
I also feel the need to attempt to express something about our family dynamics at the moment. (Other than the fact that I keep shipping my kids off.) Jack seems to have decided that Kate NaNa is his buddy. When I am otherwise occupied she helps him go up and down the stairs, she helps him put on his pjs, and she can find his bottle and other beloved comfort items. However, she is not without jealousy. She occasionally drinks out of his bottle herself and wears his bibs.
The boys love him, but they are often loud and in his face. Which means that Jack thinks that he should scream at them anytime they get near him. Which means that they think that he doesn't like them because he is always screaming at them. I have tried to explain the circular logic at work here and how they can change this dynamic. Ben is starting to pick up on how to handle Jack gently. Will (typically The Baby Whisperer) is just mad that Jack doesn't adore him the same way other small children do.
Jack and I are still very much trying to figure each other out. I don't think I have a full grasp of what this transition will eventually look like because I am still smack-dab in the middle of it, desperate for a hot meal and a full eight hours. Someday maybe I will sit down and put the right words to it, but for now this feeble attempt will have to do.
The first month together was the honeymoon period. The second month together was reality hitting him (and us) in the face that this was going to be harder than we thought. We really had to back up and focus on Jack's needs and attachment.
This past month has been a dance where we move two steps forward and one step back. Which thankfully adds up to more steps forward than back, but is still a lot of extra steps. As I said earlier, he wants me to hold him, wants me near him, and seeks me out for comfort. And all of this is very good and necessary work that needs to go on in our relationship. But in the next minute he will refuse to let me help him, throw a toy at me, and then look miserable that I have no idea what he is trying to tell me. Also very normal behavior.
But that doesn't mean that I am not exhausted. I am tired. Unless you are a doctor's office, I have done a terrible job at returning your emails and phone calls. I haven't read a good book or my favorite blogs in weeks because there is no alone time, and I really need to be present with my kids when they are with me anyway, especially in this time when all four of my kids are so very needy of my attention and time.
Tim and I have a friend who likes to say, "Four is a challenge." I used to laugh when he said it, but those are the truest words in my life right now. Learning this new dance of being a family of six is fun and exciting, but I am doing a lot of tripping over my own feet at the moment. Thank you to everyone who is blessing us with the space on the dance floor to work out the moves. I think I will get it eventually.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Appointments, Part 6: Speech
Please forgive my lack of posting. We have been on vacation, and I am still trying to find our new out-of-school norm.
I mentioned earlier that our state's Early Intervention folks had done an evaluation on Jack, and there was one area that he qualified for services: Speech. He has almost caught up in every other area, but his speech is very slow in coming. I get a lot of questions about Jack's speech, so I figured that this would be a good place to answer some basic questions.
Can he speak English?
This one gets an eye roll out of me every time. No, he can't speak English. Most 21 month olds that I know aren't exactly fluent, ya know?
How will you teach him English?
The same way every English-speaking parent teaches their baby English - they talk to him. Children learn to understand new languages amazingly fast. That's why people should learn second or third languages as small children instead of as adults or teenagers. (But wait, that's another rant of mine.)
Can he speak Chinese?
Nope, he can't speak Chinese either. The thing is, he doesn't speak. He babbles. Because of his cleft palate (the big, gaping hole in the roof of his mouth that goes up into his nasal cavity) he cannot produce most consonant sounds. He can't make the puff of air he needs for some sounds. Couple that with the fact that he hasn't been encouraged to babble and play with his sounds. You know how parents copy their baby's sounds and go back and forth being silly? This teaches the child to explore their sounds and to imitate words. But Jack is just now experiencing that. So, he can say, "Ah gah!" and "mamamamamamama," and "Uh-oh!" and "Ow!" That is his current favorite repertoire.
Will he ever learn to talk?
Absolutely. We are starting off with an hour of speech therapy a week. Melissa comes to our house and basically plays with Jack and me. She points out positive things he is doing and models exercises for us to do. For example, this week she wants us to repeat the random noises he makes and get really silly so he will be encouraged to repeat the sounds that we are making. It's actually really fun, and Jack gets crazy giggly.
We are also working on teaching him sign language so that he will be able to start communicating his needs with words instead of tears. Last night in the grocery store he signed milk when we walked past the milk and pizza when we walked past the pizza. And then we both got crazy giggly.
(Have I ever mentioned that a great place to have a conversation with an infant/toddler is in the grocery store? You can get lots of eye and skin contact and teach them tons of new stuff, while entertaining the other shoppers at the same time. Yes, they will stare at you if play peek a boo with your baby while you pick out tomato sauce, but it will also make them smile really big, which most tired shoppers need. Consider it your contribution to making your town a happier place to live:)
So, to sum up, Jack is right where we expect him to be right now. He is exploring sounds. He is trying to imitate us some. He is starting to use signs. He's a smart kid. And he is awesome like that.
Posts (so far) about Jack's cleft/developmental/IA issues:
- Let the Appointments Begin!
- Appointments, Part 2: Audiology
- Appointments, Part 3: Plastic Surgeons
- Appointments, Part 4: The Dentist
- Appointments, Part 5: Early Intervention
- ENT (and probably more audiology)
- Plastic Surgeons...Again (maybe)
- Surgery
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Appointments, Part 5: Early Intervention
A couple of weeks after we got home from China, I took Jack to see the pediatrician at the International Adoption Clinic at the nearby university hospital. As part of the work-up, an OT came in and did an assessment of Jack.
At the time, she and I talked about how Jack's walking had largely improved since I met him, but how he ran with his arms extended for balance. And how he had recently learned to put rings on the yellow cone, and go up and down stairs holding an adult's hand, but he still lacked a pincer grasp, and he couldn't lean down and pick things up without falling over. At the time, she indicated that if evaluated for Early Intervention that day, he would qualify for both physical and occupational therapy. We discussed how I fully expected him to continue to improve quickly over the coming weeks, but if he didn't continue then I should push for OT services with someone who is also skilled in gross motor development. She gave me some exercises to do, and off we went.
In the meantime, I had been trying to get Jack enrolled in Early Intervention. At first, they qualified him based on his severe hearing loss. Except, after we saw the audiologist we realized that he didn't actually have severe hearing loss, and therefore no longer qualified based on that. And so we had to start over with a thorough evaluation of several different developmental areas. When I filled out the questionnaire, he failed every single area.
Two weeks ago, Ms. Teresa came out to do the evaluation. This was 10 days after the questionnaire. Two weeks after we saw the OT. And he did totally awesome. His walking - while still not developmentally at 21 months - had improved even further, and we have no reason to think it won't continue. His grasp has gone from a full hand grasp to a fingertip grasp. Still no two finger pincer, but it will come.
He did things that I had tried to teach him only days before, but at the time he hadn't figured out. He could put long pegs into the tiny holes on the first try. He could put wooden shapes into the puzzle. He could drive the Little People car. He could sit on a riding toy and push with his legs.
In other words, he is learning even faster than I thought.
But of course, there is one area in which he did qualify for Early Intervention - speech. But that is a post for another day:)
Posts (so far) about Jack's cleft/developmental/IA issues:
At the time, she and I talked about how Jack's walking had largely improved since I met him, but how he ran with his arms extended for balance. And how he had recently learned to put rings on the yellow cone, and go up and down stairs holding an adult's hand, but he still lacked a pincer grasp, and he couldn't lean down and pick things up without falling over. At the time, she indicated that if evaluated for Early Intervention that day, he would qualify for both physical and occupational therapy. We discussed how I fully expected him to continue to improve quickly over the coming weeks, but if he didn't continue then I should push for OT services with someone who is also skilled in gross motor development. She gave me some exercises to do, and off we went.
In the meantime, I had been trying to get Jack enrolled in Early Intervention. At first, they qualified him based on his severe hearing loss. Except, after we saw the audiologist we realized that he didn't actually have severe hearing loss, and therefore no longer qualified based on that. And so we had to start over with a thorough evaluation of several different developmental areas. When I filled out the questionnaire, he failed every single area.
Two weeks ago, Ms. Teresa came out to do the evaluation. This was 10 days after the questionnaire. Two weeks after we saw the OT. And he did totally awesome. His walking - while still not developmentally at 21 months - had improved even further, and we have no reason to think it won't continue. His grasp has gone from a full hand grasp to a fingertip grasp. Still no two finger pincer, but it will come.
He did things that I had tried to teach him only days before, but at the time he hadn't figured out. He could put long pegs into the tiny holes on the first try. He could put wooden shapes into the puzzle. He could drive the Little People car. He could sit on a riding toy and push with his legs.
In other words, he is learning even faster than I thought.
But of course, there is one area in which he did qualify for Early Intervention - speech. But that is a post for another day:)
Posts (so far) about Jack's cleft/developmental/IA issues:
- Let the Appointments Begin!
- Appointments, Part 2: Audiology
- Appointments, Part 3: Plastic Surgeons
- Appointments, Part 4: The Dentist
- ENT (and probably more audiology)
- Speech (even though this is part of EI, it will get it's own post)
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