Thursday, July 24, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
ups and downs of the week
well, i've been delinquent in posting... here's the nutshell of the week
Wednesday - Bad round of speech therapy. He was NOT focused and barely got maybe half a dozen words out. He wouldn't sit still and even spat on the therapist. we were horrified. The Occupational therapy went real well, tho. He loves to play with the OT toys.
Allison, Maya, and Gavin came over to play and for dinner. Dominic did WAY better playing with Maya this time, and Allie and I decided that the last time that was so disastrous was because a. Shanti pulled Dominic down and he skinned his knee as they were getting out of the car which set him off, and b. we were kinda pushing them to play. This time we left them alone and they had a ball. dominic gave Maya HUGE hugs and kisses when they left.
thursdasy - we had an extra round of Speech therapy and it actually went remarkably better. I was relieved.
Friday - We were at Memorial hospital at 8:30am for Dominic's MRI. This time, at my insistance, they gave him Versed before the gas, and it made him completely chill. also made it take longer for him to wake up. All effects wore off by 2ish, and he played normally this afternoon
Wednesday - Bad round of speech therapy. He was NOT focused and barely got maybe half a dozen words out. He wouldn't sit still and even spat on the therapist. we were horrified. The Occupational therapy went real well, tho. He loves to play with the OT toys.
Allison, Maya, and Gavin came over to play and for dinner. Dominic did WAY better playing with Maya this time, and Allie and I decided that the last time that was so disastrous was because a. Shanti pulled Dominic down and he skinned his knee as they were getting out of the car which set him off, and b. we were kinda pushing them to play. This time we left them alone and they had a ball. dominic gave Maya HUGE hugs and kisses when they left.
thursdasy - we had an extra round of Speech therapy and it actually went remarkably better. I was relieved.
Friday - We were at Memorial hospital at 8:30am for Dominic's MRI. This time, at my insistance, they gave him Versed before the gas, and it made him completely chill. also made it take longer for him to wake up. All effects wore off by 2ish, and he played normally this afternoon
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
thoughts on school for 2008-2009
Still haven't decided what to do about school starting in the fall, but have decided that we won't be going back to Buena Vista. We both still think that there was something traumatic that happened in the classroom there. And its a bit of a drive.
We're going to wait until we get the MRI results (late July/Early August) and then get back in touch with the school to make formal arrangements, but will probably go ahead and go to the preschool program run by CPCD (community partnership for child development) at Longfellow elementary which is no more than 5minutes from our house. Much more convenient. no idea what their hours are, etc, but thats what we're leaning towards. Bonus is that it'll be free since he's got an IEP, and we've got some money we'll get back from the school district
We're going to wait until we get the MRI results (late July/Early August) and then get back in touch with the school to make formal arrangements, but will probably go ahead and go to the preschool program run by CPCD (community partnership for child development) at Longfellow elementary which is no more than 5minutes from our house. Much more convenient. no idea what their hours are, etc, but thats what we're leaning towards. Bonus is that it'll be free since he's got an IEP, and we've got some money we'll get back from the school district
And we have ruled out Hearing
We saw Dr Shaw this afternoon. Had a bit of a wait at his office, but once we got him in the little room, we really liked him. I completely understand why he is THE ear doc for kids. Very personable. Dominic actually let him look in his ears without freaking out, which is a HUGE deal.
Anyway, the ABR showed MAYBE a mild loss in the left ear- which we already knew - but he saw no fluid, and nothing to indicate that either tubes or hearing aids would be at all helpful. He does want us back every 4 months for a team audiogram (the behavioral tone test we did in April) to see if we can chart an accurate hearing curve for him, and to watch to see if a loss does develop. So we'll go back in November-ish.
He asked if we'd seen a neurologist, and was pleased to know that we're having an MRI in the 18th. he'd a like a copy.
He did suggest that perhaps we should look at the developmental disorders - ie autism - which is frustrating because of the number of professional types who have said with Dominic's interaction and eye contact and ability to communicate his needs that this isn't autism. Then he qualified that suggestion by saying that when his wife was living in Europe that a neighbor kid had a round of ear infections, stopped talking, and ended up with an autism dx. He's an ear doc, not a developmental pediatrician.
so we've definately ruled out hearing as causal for the speech regression and sensory issues. We will continue to watch him for the development of a hearing loss, but no action is being recommended at this time.
Anyway, the ABR showed MAYBE a mild loss in the left ear- which we already knew - but he saw no fluid, and nothing to indicate that either tubes or hearing aids would be at all helpful. He does want us back every 4 months for a team audiogram (the behavioral tone test we did in April) to see if we can chart an accurate hearing curve for him, and to watch to see if a loss does develop. So we'll go back in November-ish.
He asked if we'd seen a neurologist, and was pleased to know that we're having an MRI in the 18th. he'd a like a copy.
He did suggest that perhaps we should look at the developmental disorders - ie autism - which is frustrating because of the number of professional types who have said with Dominic's interaction and eye contact and ability to communicate his needs that this isn't autism. Then he qualified that suggestion by saying that when his wife was living in Europe that a neighbor kid had a round of ear infections, stopped talking, and ended up with an autism dx. He's an ear doc, not a developmental pediatrician.
so we've definately ruled out hearing as causal for the speech regression and sensory issues. We will continue to watch him for the development of a hearing loss, but no action is being recommended at this time.
OT and ST update - 7-8-08
Dominic LOVES occupational therapy. Some of the things she's doing with him are:
Playing in a pit of balls (for the deep proprioceptive pressure)
Playing with a large bin of beans, scoops, pitchers, etc (again for proprioceptive pressure)
Swinging
spinning while laying down
Laying on his tummy on a wheeled board and pulling himself up a ramp with his arms (then sliding down the ramp face first, which he LOVED)
Things that she wants us to do include finding a ball pit for him to play in (guess that means we have to go to mcdonalds occasionally now), work on SEATED activities (if we can get him a bowl of beans to sit with and play with, or a simple 6-8 piece puzzle, or coloring), she really wants him to focus on building up to 5-10min of seated activities. Right now he HAS to be moving. She also suggested tactile stuff - playing with shaving cream or pudding or in mud. Getting messy - the messier the better. (that didn't go over well w/Rod). We're still doing the brushing 4+ times per day. I asked the OT where she would put him on a sensory scale, compared to her clientelle, and she puts him at moderate to severe because of his inability to follow direction without added tactile contact/instruction.
Speech therapy seems to be hit or miss. Julie, his therapist said that last week he did great. This week she could barely get his attention, much less get him to talk. So we need to work on sitting and doing labeling activities, naming things in books, or puzzles. I may need to go buy him a Mr. Potato head. Thats one of the speech therapy tools, interestingly enough.
Playing in a pit of balls (for the deep proprioceptive pressure)
Playing with a large bin of beans, scoops, pitchers, etc (again for proprioceptive pressure)
Swinging
spinning while laying down
Laying on his tummy on a wheeled board and pulling himself up a ramp with his arms (then sliding down the ramp face first, which he LOVED)
Things that she wants us to do include finding a ball pit for him to play in (guess that means we have to go to mcdonalds occasionally now), work on SEATED activities (if we can get him a bowl of beans to sit with and play with, or a simple 6-8 piece puzzle, or coloring), she really wants him to focus on building up to 5-10min of seated activities. Right now he HAS to be moving. She also suggested tactile stuff - playing with shaving cream or pudding or in mud. Getting messy - the messier the better. (that didn't go over well w/Rod). We're still doing the brushing 4+ times per day. I asked the OT where she would put him on a sensory scale, compared to her clientelle, and she puts him at moderate to severe because of his inability to follow direction without added tactile contact/instruction.
Speech therapy seems to be hit or miss. Julie, his therapist said that last week he did great. This week she could barely get his attention, much less get him to talk. So we need to work on sitting and doing labeling activities, naming things in books, or puzzles. I may need to go buy him a Mr. Potato head. Thats one of the speech therapy tools, interestingly enough.
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