Honestly I feel like all I have done in 2018 is try to survive. I know that sounds super dramatic, but I was so looking forward to the end of the semester in hopes of getting a break from the stress and here we are and I feel almost as stressed as before!
Classes, comps, and the first three chapters of my dissertation (in draft form) are complete, but replacing them are now health issues (cancer plus Isabella has been sick on and off since the middle of April), overwhelming frustration with our adoption agency (they can't seem to answer even basic questions now like what is your success rate? and often like to remind us that Isabella's birth is what has led it to be more difficult for us to adopt--sweet people aren't they), and the stress of coming fully to terms with having only one child.
Some of these things have got to get better. The good news with a small tumor is that it is not life threatening at the moment. The bad news is that it seems to mean that getting it taken care of is not a top priority. J.T. finally got he kidney stone taken care of and we met the doctor about the tumor. It looks like he will need 4-6 weeks to recover, but they can't seem to commit to when the procedure will take place (apparently it could be months away rather than weeks). J.T.'s anxiety level is super high because he just wants it out!
I keep emailing back and forth with the adoption people though they keep putting off my questions. Our contract ends on June 12. I know J.T. just wants to be done, but I keep trying to figure out how to make peace with a group of people who aren't all bad (they are successful for many of the people they serve), but use a hard sell that makes it seem that as long as you follow their strategy you will be successful. That is not the case as three years and $20,000 later we have come to learn the hard way. I just want to find a way to help others not get taken for the same ride we and our friends have.
I am trying to find some ways to reduce my stress level. Started Couch to 5K again. Making sure to get sleep. Listening to some faith based podcasts. Praying. Hoping these things will help me get my mind right cuz right now it's a mess...
Friday, May 18, 2018
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Early Intervention
Isabella has been walking for months, can climb just about anything, tries to carry things bigger than she is, babbles from sun up to sun down BUT girlfriend has yet to utter even one intentional word used in context. No Mama (in reference to me), No Dada (when referring to J.T.). Though she can babble mamamama, dadadada with the best of them!
So a few weeks ago I took a minute and looked up Early Intervention for our county. One of the milestones they listed was 1-3 words by 12 months, so I decided to give them a call and see what was up. They said they would come to the house and conduct a screening (free of charge). J.T. wasn't super excited when I told him about it (this was before all of the health issues cropped up), but didn't want to stop getting Isabella help if she needed it.
So on Tuesday they came out and gave her a screening. Not surprisingly she was above average in motor skills, average in cognitive and life skills, and qualified for services and additional testing for both receptive and expressive language skills as they noted she had a slight delay in both areas:(.
I took her for a vision and hearing screening today both of which she passed with flying colors. BTW I was very curious as to what a hearing screening for a one year old would look like, but once we did it was super impressed with the work Birth-3 educators do to ensure even the littlest ones get the help they need. What is even more amazing is that all of these screenings, assessments and plan development are free. It is only once you get to the need for additional services that there is a charge on a sliding fee scale.
Two members of the team from Tuesday came back out today and we developed a plan for Isabella. The process totally feels like the IEP process but for babies and toddlers! Thank goodness I had been on the other side of the table before because had I not, even though they talked us through everything, seeing it through J.T.s eyes showed me just how intimidating this process can be.
So her goals currently revolve around increasing her attention span so she begin to acquire and then use more language, and then of course to begin to express wants/needs using gestures and label basic objects using words. A speech language pathologist will also come out later this month to do a more in depth evaluation. The plan lasts for 6 months and they provided some great suggestions for me to incorporate right now.
I am not SUPER concerned that there is a huge issue at hand, rather I just want to ensure I am doing everything I can to ensure Isabella can express herself. Having worked with so many children the inability to effectively say what you want or need can be so frustrating and I was out of tricks so am super glad to have some more resources.
So a few weeks ago I took a minute and looked up Early Intervention for our county. One of the milestones they listed was 1-3 words by 12 months, so I decided to give them a call and see what was up. They said they would come to the house and conduct a screening (free of charge). J.T. wasn't super excited when I told him about it (this was before all of the health issues cropped up), but didn't want to stop getting Isabella help if she needed it.
So on Tuesday they came out and gave her a screening. Not surprisingly she was above average in motor skills, average in cognitive and life skills, and qualified for services and additional testing for both receptive and expressive language skills as they noted she had a slight delay in both areas:(.
I took her for a vision and hearing screening today both of which she passed with flying colors. BTW I was very curious as to what a hearing screening for a one year old would look like, but once we did it was super impressed with the work Birth-3 educators do to ensure even the littlest ones get the help they need. What is even more amazing is that all of these screenings, assessments and plan development are free. It is only once you get to the need for additional services that there is a charge on a sliding fee scale.
Two members of the team from Tuesday came back out today and we developed a plan for Isabella. The process totally feels like the IEP process but for babies and toddlers! Thank goodness I had been on the other side of the table before because had I not, even though they talked us through everything, seeing it through J.T.s eyes showed me just how intimidating this process can be.
So her goals currently revolve around increasing her attention span so she begin to acquire and then use more language, and then of course to begin to express wants/needs using gestures and label basic objects using words. A speech language pathologist will also come out later this month to do a more in depth evaluation. The plan lasts for 6 months and they provided some great suggestions for me to incorporate right now.
I am not SUPER concerned that there is a huge issue at hand, rather I just want to ensure I am doing everything I can to ensure Isabella can express herself. Having worked with so many children the inability to effectively say what you want or need can be so frustrating and I was out of tricks so am super glad to have some more resources.
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