This past week we had Gavin's semi-annual evaluation through Early Intervention. He was evaluated separately by each one of his therapists and then we met together to discuss his treatment going forward. Here is what was determined:
Speech - We've had some advancement in his vocabulary but his articulation is not there at all. I can figure out what he is saying about half the time b/c he generally motions while doing it (pats top of his head while saying "ha" for hat). Gavin tested one point away from above average (114)in the receptive language category. Meaning he hears you, he understands, he gets it. Do not let this child fool you, he is smart and understands everything you are telling him. In fact, he understands more than the average child his age. However, he tested one point away from below average (85) in expressive language. This means what he is able to communicate and verbalize is far less than the average child his age. Neither of these things came as a surprise to us but just confirmed what we already know...my kid is a smart non-talker. So, we decided to leave him at speech once a week, hoping that he is on the verge of some sort of breakthrough. However, if there is no big developments in 2 months he will be increased to twice a week--hopefully one of these will be a co-treatment with OT. Also, in two months he has to get a referral for a pediatric neurologist to see if he has Apraxia. This is a motor-planning problem in the brain that even though he is trying to talk and wants to talk, the words won't come out. I haven't allowed myself to spend time on the internet researching this because I know its unhealthy for me to do so. I'll wait for 2 months before I totally freak myself out about that. :)
OT - Again, Gavin is testing really high in his ability to understand and respond to commands, etc. However, she wants to continue working on his fine motor skills of which he is behind in. There are some sensory issues that still exist like the toe-walking. This means he is still not where he should be with how he inputs stimulation. How you process information is all related to motor planning...which leads to fine motor and speech. So, by continuing to work on his sensory and fine motor we are hoping to get more speech. When Gavin does have a co-treatment with his OT and Speech Therapist, he does really well and is often very verbal which shows a great correlation between the two. So, for now, we will still have OT once a week.
PT - OFFICIALLY DISCHARGED!! YAY!!!! Gavin is testing totally within the normal limits for gross motor (not like I was worried about it truthfully). Most of the atypical things he had showed six months ago which made her want to treat him, have been resolved. She doesn't have any concerns for him in this area which means he no longer needs treatment! Huge sigh of relief!! We're very excited about this b/c at least for 2 months, I'll only have therapy twice a week. Awesome!!
Overall, I'm happy we were able to drop one therapy session a week but clearly, was hoping Gavin would be much further with his development at this point. We definitely have more words but there is not a real articulation distinction between many of them. It is easy to get discouraged and often times I do but....as I end almost every post about speech...I try to remember, God made him this way, perfectly in His image. Who am I to question that?
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