I've been thinking lately about the first child having issues vs. the second child, and what happened in our case.
Rylee was far from delayed. I am pretty sure that she knew all of her body parts at 12 months. She didn't say too much early on, but I know that she woke up one morning talking, and hasn't stopped since. Its hard to keep track, but I believe she is up to 8-10 word sentences. However, it did take her 30 months to figure out how to use a spoon correctly. Ha... figure that one out?
Now, what I have been thinking about, it how Kai has made me appreciate what Rylee was able to do so much more. I feel like this sounds sooo bad. I just feel like if she was the one that had a early childhood developmental delay, that I would have spent the first 18 months of Kai's life, freaking out over every.single.milestone.
But, in hindsight - I did that with him anyway. Mothers intuition? I was concerned that he didn't roll as quickly. He didn't laugh until 4 months. Maybe that was just signs of things to come? I don't know...
I think the point of this, is that I am thankful for each child and what they bring to the family, even though they are so different.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Second Session
Kai's second session was yesterday and it went really well!
My sister offered to watch Rylee (THANK YOU!) so Kai was able to have one on one time with me and the therapist. He did so good!
For now, since we are still in the "getting to know you" stage, a typical session is just kinda sitting on the floor playing. For a while he passed pieces of paper back and forth between myself and Lisa. Before we would give it to him we would say "Pa-per... you want the pa-per."... When you work on words with him, they need to be slow and deliberate. He had lots of fun showing off his climbing skills, and his falling skills... he has lots of skills (hehe). He also practiced taking his shoes on and off... and has gotten pretty good at saying "Off" (sounds like af). He has really really warmed up to Lisa... he sat on her lap at one point, and blew her a kiss when she left... so sweet.
She did notice that his right eye kind of lags when he is tracking something. I'm not sure exactly what that means, or what we do about it... but for now we are just keeping a eye (no pun intended) on it.
I've been trying really hard this week so keep a postive outlook on everything... I refuse to wish that he was some other way. He is my perfect little boy... who is SO happy, all the time. He is Kai...
---
One thing that I forgot to write....Kai LOVES to mimic talking on the phone... it is soooo cute, but once you put a real phone up to his ear, with a real person on the other end he shuts down. I mentioned this to Lisa, and she said its because he is feeling self-concious and is becoming aware that he can't communicate. Poor bubber... :-(
My sister offered to watch Rylee (THANK YOU!) so Kai was able to have one on one time with me and the therapist. He did so good!
For now, since we are still in the "getting to know you" stage, a typical session is just kinda sitting on the floor playing. For a while he passed pieces of paper back and forth between myself and Lisa. Before we would give it to him we would say "Pa-per... you want the pa-per."... When you work on words with him, they need to be slow and deliberate. He had lots of fun showing off his climbing skills, and his falling skills... he has lots of skills (hehe). He also practiced taking his shoes on and off... and has gotten pretty good at saying "Off" (sounds like af). He has really really warmed up to Lisa... he sat on her lap at one point, and blew her a kiss when she left... so sweet.
She did notice that his right eye kind of lags when he is tracking something. I'm not sure exactly what that means, or what we do about it... but for now we are just keeping a eye (no pun intended) on it.
I've been trying really hard this week so keep a postive outlook on everything... I refuse to wish that he was some other way. He is my perfect little boy... who is SO happy, all the time. He is Kai...
---
One thing that I forgot to write....Kai LOVES to mimic talking on the phone... it is soooo cute, but once you put a real phone up to his ear, with a real person on the other end he shuts down. I mentioned this to Lisa, and she said its because he is feeling self-concious and is becoming aware that he can't communicate. Poor bubber... :-(
Thursday, February 17, 2011
First session...
Kai had his first therapy session on Wednesday. We have been blessed with a therapist that BOTH kids warmed right up to. The first session was just a "getting to know you" sort of thing. We all sat around the table and did finger painting. We went over some paperwork and what not.
We are still planning on getting his ears checked... the fact that he HATES swinging might have something to do with his ears... or it might just be a sensory thing.
For reference - here are his stats...
Body Control and Movement
Gross motor - 15 months - walks well, runs, creeps up and down stairs, climbs furniture. Throws ball, squats and stands.
Fine motor - 11 months - Has pincer grasp, scribbles with crayon. Throws a ball, pushes car and truck.
Thinking, Learning and Playing
8 months - Kisses and hugs doll during play. Imitates clapping, sometimes waves good-bye. Sometimes imitates tongue-clicking. Likes to bang or throw toys, uncovers face, pulls string to get toy.
Speech and Language
Receptive - 8 months
Expressive - 5 months
- Does not know body parts. His words are "oh oh", "dis" and "dat". No other sounds or consonants. Responds to name or sound source. Does not identify named objects.
Relating to Parents, Self and Others
11 months - Plays peek-a-boo. Leaves mom briefly. Performs for social attention but not for praise.
Self Help and Self Care
Eating - 19 months
Toileting - 12 months
- Dressing - takes socks and mittens off, combs hair and brushes teeth. Uses a fork and spoon. Uses a sippy cup. Has paci. Eats well, sucks from a straw.
We are still planning on getting his ears checked... the fact that he HATES swinging might have something to do with his ears... or it might just be a sensory thing.
For reference - here are his stats...
Body Control and Movement
Gross motor - 15 months - walks well, runs, creeps up and down stairs, climbs furniture. Throws ball, squats and stands.
Fine motor - 11 months - Has pincer grasp, scribbles with crayon. Throws a ball, pushes car and truck.
Thinking, Learning and Playing
8 months - Kisses and hugs doll during play. Imitates clapping, sometimes waves good-bye. Sometimes imitates tongue-clicking. Likes to bang or throw toys, uncovers face, pulls string to get toy.
Speech and Language
Receptive - 8 months
Expressive - 5 months
- Does not know body parts. His words are "oh oh", "dis" and "dat". No other sounds or consonants. Responds to name or sound source. Does not identify named objects.
Relating to Parents, Self and Others
11 months - Plays peek-a-boo. Leaves mom briefly. Performs for social attention but not for praise.
Self Help and Self Care
Eating - 19 months
Toileting - 12 months
- Dressing - takes socks and mittens off, combs hair and brushes teeth. Uses a fork and spoon. Uses a sippy cup. Has paci. Eats well, sucks from a straw.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Early Childhood Developmental Delay.
That is what Kai was diagnosed with today.
Here is a little background first.
Kai has no words. He only says a few, every one and a while. These would include "oh oh", "dis" and "dat". He does not say "Mama" or "Dada".
I began to get worried around his 15 month appointment with his Pedi. She didn't really seem all that concerned. My motherly instints told me something wasn't right. I tried to put it to the back of my mind and not worry about it until his 18 month appointment... but a few weeks before we got some advice that I will never forget - "Don't let anyone tell you its normal - Its not." The next day I made a call to get him evualated by the local school district.
Today two ladies came over. They got right on the floor to do their evualation. Kai was very very shy and would not participate in any of their activities. They had to go by my word, since Kai was doing nothing but sitting on my lap.
Once they started naming off months, I knew we were in for it. "He is a solid 11 months for ____" "He is a solild 8 months for ______" Then they said "he is a solid 5 months for ____" and my heart kinda sank. One of the ladies looked at me and said "We are really happy that you called us... as you can see, he is behind in more than just his speech".
On the plus side, he is right on track for self help and self care (brushing his teeth, self feeding). One of the ladies said "Well, I we found his strong area! I think his therapist is going to have to use food as a way to win him over". That just cracked me up because if you know anything about my dad's side of the family - they LOVE to eat!! That kid is one of them.
So... thats that. He was enrolled in the Early On program, and a therapist will start coming weekly to help him along.
I cannot wait to see how he changes.
Here is a little background first.
Kai has no words. He only says a few, every one and a while. These would include "oh oh", "dis" and "dat". He does not say "Mama" or "Dada".
I began to get worried around his 15 month appointment with his Pedi. She didn't really seem all that concerned. My motherly instints told me something wasn't right. I tried to put it to the back of my mind and not worry about it until his 18 month appointment... but a few weeks before we got some advice that I will never forget - "Don't let anyone tell you its normal - Its not." The next day I made a call to get him evualated by the local school district.
Today two ladies came over. They got right on the floor to do their evualation. Kai was very very shy and would not participate in any of their activities. They had to go by my word, since Kai was doing nothing but sitting on my lap.
Once they started naming off months, I knew we were in for it. "He is a solid 11 months for ____" "He is a solild 8 months for ______" Then they said "he is a solid 5 months for ____" and my heart kinda sank. One of the ladies looked at me and said "We are really happy that you called us... as you can see, he is behind in more than just his speech".
On the plus side, he is right on track for self help and self care (brushing his teeth, self feeding). One of the ladies said "Well, I we found his strong area! I think his therapist is going to have to use food as a way to win him over". That just cracked me up because if you know anything about my dad's side of the family - they LOVE to eat!! That kid is one of them.
So... thats that. He was enrolled in the Early On program, and a therapist will start coming weekly to help him along.
I cannot wait to see how he changes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)