For the past few months, we noticed a slight delay with Evan's speech (he's now 2). At first, I was a bit in denial thinking that every child is different and he would soon say more words, but after bringing it up to my pediatrician and due to the trauma during birth, we should have him evaluated.
So, we made an appointment with early intervention and had a special education teacher as well as a speech therapist come out and do an evaluation. I knew what to expect during this meeting because I use to work as a behavior therapist for a school district on Long Island before we moved upstate.
They came out and sat on the floor and brought a "bag of toys." Little did Evan know they were there to test him, not really to play. Well, he became tired and frustrated with the teacher and they began to see how he does not transition well between activities! He had to go down for a nap and then they calculated his scores and they did see a slight delay in a couple of areas.
A final report came in the mail the other day and we set up an appointment with a service coordinator where we went over our goals we would work on with Evan. We will be working on speech obviously as well as some fine motor skills.
It's really tough being the parent in this process as I am used to being the one on the other side of the table. I am lucky that there is nothing major going on with him and that I should just count my blessings, but I can't help but feel guilty! Could I be doing more? Is there something I should have been doing differently? I am not the greatest mother, but I would like to think I am a pretty good one.
Dylan (our 5 year old son) is at summer camp during the day, so we will be focusing a ton of attention on Evan this summer. It will help that next school year he will be going to preschool which will help with his social skills.
It's a scary thing to go through, but I am glad we are doing it. I think it's better to be cautious and get him the extra help and attention he needs to grow. I was reminded my by mother than my brother had speech therapy when he was in kindergarden and he overcame it and did well. So, all in all, I think it will turn out to be a good thing having all this one on one instruction for Evan.
I can related. My 2 year old is also in ECI. He has had four surgeries since birth but we don't know if it's related and he's being tested because although he walks some, he has bad balance and really struggles with it. His speech is also being worked on. I have had the same doubts about myself. My boys are so close in age (12 months) that the guilt does creep in, but I know I try my best and he is such a bright boy and I am sure your Evan is too. :)
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