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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Developmental Evaluation

At the beginning of May, I contacted a local agency in search of a developmental evaluation for CJV.  She's a peanut - has been since birth - and, in my mind, she has experienced some delays.  I attribute much of that to her size.  At a year, her bone age was that of a 3 month old, and so it became apparent that expecting her to walk was just silly.  How many 3 month olds do you know who walk?

At that same appointment, with Dr. Fancy Pants, Charlotte was diagnosed "failure to thrive,"  which again points to her size and lack of growth/weight gain, but also usually indicates delayed development as well.  Underdeveloped bones attribute to lower muscle tone ...

Language has also seemed slow ... in comparison to her older sister, which is really all the experience I have to go on.  NHV is and has always been a chatterbox.  CJV is tough to figure out ... cute as all get-out, but a tiny little puzzle!



And so I made the call.  I listened to information about IDEA (Individuals Disability Education Act), which I was familiar with from my days as a teacher.  I rolled that word "disability" around in my head and decided not to dwell on it.  I learned about therapy options that would be available to Charlotte - if she qualifies.  Throughout this process, I've kept thoughts of doing what is best for my child and being her advocate in the forefront of my mind.  The idea of early intervention, if needed, gives me a sense of empowerment.

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Two therapists will be at my house at 9:00 am to conduct an hour-long evaluation of Charlotte's development. She is just two days shy of the ripe old age of 18 months!  I find myself up much too late cramming for the big test ... sifting through digital images and old blog posts to piece together a "baby book" of milestones and language.

And since I can't think of a better place to put all of this, I'll share it here ...
 
Physical Milestones
  • Finding Feet - 6.5 months
  • Rolling Front to Back - 6 months
  • Rolling Back to Front - almost 9 months
  • Sitting up - 11 months
  • Belly Crawling - 12.5 months
  • Crawling on knees - 14 months
  • Pulling Up - 15.5 months
  • Letting Go - 17 months
  • Cruising/Side-stepping - 17 months
  • Walking - tbd
Language
  • Hi (waves proficiently hello and good-bye)
  • Da (clearly means daddy)
  • Ma (very rarely and I don't think it means "mom")
  • aaaa-eee (I think Natalie)
  • key-key (binky)
  • kitty, -t (cat)
  • Uh-Oh at 14 months
  • ba-bee (hasn't said this for a long time)
  • Nods head for yes (doesn't shake head for no)
  • Signs "all done"
  • Signs "bird" (all the time)
  • Signs "milk" (also to mean "more" - but not always)
  • Signs "book" (I think, but it looked a lot like clapping)

7 comments:

BJ_Mama said...

I'll be praying for you all today HUGS!!! XOXOXOXO

Emmett Joseph said...

Thinking of you, sweetie! Can't wait to hear all about it, but remember this is NOT a test, so don't put any pressure on yourself :) Love you!

TheGrowingCunninghams said...

Lots of love today, D. You are so right; early intervention is empowering. It is also key and what I largely attribute my babies' success to. What landed both our families at these evaluations may be different, but I remember the anxiety very well. Call if you need me:)

Mona said...

Good thoughts and hugs for you today

Noelle said...

Thinking of you today, Mama. No matter what, you're amazing and C is lucky to have you. I know we usually say this the other way but in this case she's got an amazing champion in her court. :) It's not really a test but good luck anyway.

chitownmomma said...

Hugs friend! Anything you can do to help your child is the right thing to do!
Oh, and that pic of her bent over the chair...could be one of the cutest pics ever!

Epiphius said...

Just catching up on reading, but I hope the evaluation went well and gives you the info to proceed. We also had to have Spunky assessed last year. If you want to know more about it, just let me know.

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