Mia's Early Intervention Evaluation
EI came out today and evaluated Mia. It was great to see everyone again. Sasha's speech therapist, Karen, came for the speech portion and the two women that evaluated his physical and occupational needs came again along with a new developmental therapist. And, Anna, our service coordinator is awesome and Blake LOVES her.
For those of you that haven't had this done, it's very easy and, in my opinion, doesn't hurt the bonding process at all. They basically sit on the floor each with their own sack of toys and take turns playing one-on-one with your child. They are looking for fine motor skills, gross motor skills, expressive and receptive language, self help, etc. So, for example, the OT might have a cup and ask your child to place a cheerio into the cup. Then, she might ask your child to put the cheerio into a bottle. The process takes about an hour with each therapist taking turns and recording how your child does.
Mia did very well. She was delighted to have five people all focus on her and took turns 'working the room'. My suspicions that her fine motor skills were really good were accurate. She tested in the 14 month range for those skills which is considered normal for her age. She tested at the 16 month range for gross motor skills (walking, stairs, etc.), she tested at 14 months for developmental areas and she tested with a 38% delay in speech . To qualify for EI services, your child must have at least a 30% delay in one of the tested areas. So Mia qualifies for EI in speech.
The next step to evaluate how your child compares to other children based on a 1-5 scale. Then you work with the therapists to write desired outcomes for your child. These outcomes and starting points become the basis for future evaluations to make sure that progress is being made. Once a child qualifies in one area, they are able to receive as many services as you want at the same price (fees are based on a sliding scale based on income).
Mia will receive speech once a week and DT two times a month. I also asked if a social worker could come out to give us some more tools to help Sasha feel better about our new family dynamic. He's been acting out a lot lately which isn't normal for him. He's doing better than last week but we still have a bit more work to do to get him back to the sweet, fun-loving, happy little boy that he was. His reaction is very normal of course. I think all children have challenges when a new sibling is introduced. I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything possible to make this transition easier for everyone.
EI is GREAT stuff. We are so fortunate to have the same service coordinator who has since been promoted and doesn't work directly with families anymore (okay ... I asked her if she would take us again if our future daughter qualified and she said yes). She is so organized and basically kept following up with me even while I was in Russia to get everything kicked off and in the system. I've heard horror stories about some coordinators that take months to get evals scheduled and services started. If that happens to you, call and ask for a different coordinator. We also have the good fortune to have our old speech therapist again, Karen. And, Jennifer, our old DT, has been saving us a spot on her calendar too. YEA! After 1 1/2 years with these folks, you really feel like they are good friends or family. We suspect that Mia might not qualify for services for long. She's just picking up stuff so quickly and most of her delay is experiencial rather than skills-based.
For those of y'all bringing home children next, please find out if your state offers a program similar to EI and get their number. Call and find out the process for having your child evaluated. Our experience is that the sooner you get services going, the better off your child will be in the long run.
For those of you that haven't had this done, it's very easy and, in my opinion, doesn't hurt the bonding process at all. They basically sit on the floor each with their own sack of toys and take turns playing one-on-one with your child. They are looking for fine motor skills, gross motor skills, expressive and receptive language, self help, etc. So, for example, the OT might have a cup and ask your child to place a cheerio into the cup. Then, she might ask your child to put the cheerio into a bottle. The process takes about an hour with each therapist taking turns and recording how your child does.
Mia did very well. She was delighted to have five people all focus on her and took turns 'working the room'. My suspicions that her fine motor skills were really good were accurate. She tested in the 14 month range for those skills which is considered normal for her age. She tested at the 16 month range for gross motor skills (walking, stairs, etc.), she tested at 14 months for developmental areas and she tested with a 38% delay in speech . To qualify for EI services, your child must have at least a 30% delay in one of the tested areas. So Mia qualifies for EI in speech.
The next step to evaluate how your child compares to other children based on a 1-5 scale. Then you work with the therapists to write desired outcomes for your child. These outcomes and starting points become the basis for future evaluations to make sure that progress is being made. Once a child qualifies in one area, they are able to receive as many services as you want at the same price (fees are based on a sliding scale based on income).
Mia will receive speech once a week and DT two times a month. I also asked if a social worker could come out to give us some more tools to help Sasha feel better about our new family dynamic. He's been acting out a lot lately which isn't normal for him. He's doing better than last week but we still have a bit more work to do to get him back to the sweet, fun-loving, happy little boy that he was. His reaction is very normal of course. I think all children have challenges when a new sibling is introduced. I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything possible to make this transition easier for everyone.
EI is GREAT stuff. We are so fortunate to have the same service coordinator who has since been promoted and doesn't work directly with families anymore (okay ... I asked her if she would take us again if our future daughter qualified and she said yes). She is so organized and basically kept following up with me even while I was in Russia to get everything kicked off and in the system. I've heard horror stories about some coordinators that take months to get evals scheduled and services started. If that happens to you, call and ask for a different coordinator. We also have the good fortune to have our old speech therapist again, Karen. And, Jennifer, our old DT, has been saving us a spot on her calendar too. YEA! After 1 1/2 years with these folks, you really feel like they are good friends or family. We suspect that Mia might not qualify for services for long. She's just picking up stuff so quickly and most of her delay is experiencial rather than skills-based.
For those of y'all bringing home children next, please find out if your state offers a program similar to EI and get their number. Call and find out the process for having your child evaluated. Our experience is that the sooner you get services going, the better off your child will be in the long run.
posted by Tamara at 10:49 AM
2 Comments:
Glad to hear all went well! Congrats!
Mia working the room -- there is a surprise!
Tamara, Your boxer is so very handsome! Of course, your kids are exceptional too! Got a kick out of the dog picture, given my obsession with the breed! Glad to know things are going so well for you all!
Sherri & Tim
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