One Year Evaluation

Last week, or the week before (time runs together during the summer!), our service coordinator from ECI, and Wade's physical therapist sat down with me to go over some testing to see where he is physically/mentally/socially. For those not familiar with the process, they just score him on a paper profile. I do this same type of thing on my kiddos at school. Never in a million years did I think I would do one on my own child. Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone a update on Wade's milestones. Socially, Wade is doing remarkably well! Of course, he takes after his dad in this area! He scored at a 12 month old level. For his adaptive behavior--7 months, cognitive--6 months, fine and gross motor--3 months, and expressive/receptive language--10 months. So, as you can see, he is a bit behind, however, the language and behavior delays are a direct result of his motor delays. If there weren't any physical limitations, I believe we would see very different results. In other words, I truly don't think there are any cognitive issues--mental retardation. He tries so hard to do things, and you can just see the wheels in his head turning as he tries to figure out how to make things happen. In fact, the other morning he was sitting in his chair while I was getting ready in the bathroom. I gave him his stuffed dog to try and hold--which he has recently started doing with his upper arms!!! Well, he realized he could kinda push the dog over the edge of his chair with his arm. Then, of course, I would pick it up and give it back to him. After a couple of times, he just thought this was the most hilarious thing ever!! One time, the dog slipped out of arms reach, down around his legs. He couldn't quite figure out how to kick his legs--apparently gravity takes over in this position because he can kick like a champ when he's laying down--so he compensated for this by arching his back just enough to get the dog to roll down his legs! And immediately, the laughter resumed! We do this almost daily now, so I'll have to get a picture and post for y'all. So, bottom line, things are looking good. We just need to get his stomach muscles stronger so he'll have better control of his trunk. Our goal is for him to be sitting up unassisted by the end of the summer!!! Wish us luck!