Our Meeting

It's been an exciting day around here!

Nea had a great 10 hour sleep last night, which you know if you have kids on the spectrum, the sleep thing may or may not happen on a routine basis.  I was happy for the rest for all of us in preparing for the day.  She woke up in a great mood, she had a nice breakfast (egg, toast and a smoothie) and then a nice relaxing shower.  I knew we were going to be crossing into "The Danger Zone" if we didn't have some sort of sensory thing for her prior to our meeting time.  Therapies were out today, so it was only the evaluation that was on her dance card.

The evaluation is conducted by the school nurse, an OT person, an early childhood teacher, a social worker, and a psychologist.  These five women all bring a perspective when doing an evaluation.....which is always a good thing.

We started with the school nurse who asked us every piece of medical history and then some.  It doesn't seem that long ago that this information was forefront in our heads.  "How much did  she weigh at birth?"  "How long was the labor?".......all that info is starting to become really fuzzy for me!  Don't judge.  My brain can only hold so much and I didn't bring her baby book with me.

After the nurse completed her Spanish Inquisition, we moved to another area.  Nea was taken to a big playroom where the evaluators stood back and watched her interactions with the teacher.  She hid her eyes immediately and lowered her head so her hair hung in her face.  Quite sad and pathetic looking really.  She wanted no part of any of them.  Her Poppa and I were in an observation room.  After about 5 minutes they came to get us and Poppa went in the room with her for a few minutes.  That was enough for her to feel comfortable and he left.

Then BOOM!  She was up and exploring everything in the room.  Non-stop, no conversation, lots of babbling and picking and choosing things she was interested in.  No acknowledgement of the teacher at all.

Poppa and I were busy with the social worker....who had her own list of 348 questions.  I really liked her though.  She was very sweet, very smart, very kind and very supportive.  I really felt good with her and felt like she would be one hell of an advocate!

Back in the eval room, Nea is not cooperating at all.  She doesn't want to color, she wants nothing to do with blocks.  She has no interest in their card matching game..... And then they took the sheet off the train table....

......Oh ladies, you shouldn't have done that.....

Of course Nea was there in a heartbeat.  The train table is comforting for her, the tracks have order, the trains follow a specific path.  It's all a very lovely scene for her.  But of course she can't stay at the train table and so they decide that they need to take her to the sensory room to help her "burn off" some energy.

Ah, yes....this sensory thing is going to be a major factor in her ability to learn. I've said it from the very beginning.  A Mama knows.  So does the social worker.

When they came back from the sensory room (not sure what all happened there, we were still filling out forms and getting a gazillion questions asked), she was much more relaxed.  She was able to sit, draw a circle or two and pay attention for much longer periods.  We brought Karen (the 2lb stuffed penguin) with us as well....and that helped.

In short, it went well.   I think they were able to see an accurate picture of Nea, her strengths and weaknesses and her potential.

Did I mention I really liked the social worker?

She gave us lots of ideas for potty training, paci transitioning, activity transitions, etc.  She talked about putting up words around the house on objects so Nea begins to understand things have labels.  "Chair" "Stairs" "Wall" , etc.  Seeing the words, seeing letters is part of learning that communication has a purpose.  Right now, Nea still doesn't see the purpose.

The social worker said 2 things today that helped me take a deep breath and relax....

1)  "You guys are doing a great job.  She's lucky to have you as her parents."  Now trust me, I don't need the pat on the back for my own self esteem boost.  But it's nice to know that she believes what we've done so far has had a positive effect.  That means a lot to us and makes all the work worth it.

2)  "I know this evaluation is long, but we are trying to gather as much information as possible.  We want to meet her where she is, and then figure out the best way to help her learn."   Thank you Social Worker Wonderful Person.  It means much to me to know that this team wants to see what she is, give her a hand up and help guide her through this world.

At one point, one of the questions in our 2 hour quizzing was "What's your biggest concern about school?"

And on the inside I was screaming,...."That my baby is too young!!  I'm afraid for her to be out there by herself!  No one loves her like we do!  No one will make sure she blossoms in the world like we will!"

Of course, I didn't say that.

I think I said something like " I am a bit fearful that because her communication skills are poor, her needs are not going to be met."

But what I learned is that this is our new team. Soon it will be time to say goodbye to our Early Intervention team.  They have helped us so much and really were such strong advocates for Nea's progress.

However, our new team brings new ideas, new understandings.  Both teams (new and old) will meet in March to complete the transition and to share information.

 It's time.  It's time to graduate to new things and new adventures.  We're ready.