This morning, James was trying to talk with me. To him, I am sure he was talking in words. What I heard was babbling, but with a purpose. He wanted me to get down his special Flash Cards from his speech therapist.
He sat down expectatly and picked out the cards delicately, with one thumb and finger and shouted out the word on his own, most of the time. What a difference a year makes!
One of the biggest reasons I asked for a referral for James was because his babbling had stopped at about 13 months (right around when he started trying to walk, I later realized) and by 2 years his biggest means of communication were screaming and biting. This was very much out of character for James, who is one of the happiest, sunniest kids I have had the pleasure to know.
I had to insist with his pediatrician for the referral in end of February/early March 2007. In April 2007, a Care Coordinator from North Bay Regional came out to assess our son. She found significant developmental delays and ended up writing purchase orders for services from the following clinics: Early Learning Institute, The Swain Center, and Redwood Pediatric Therapy Associates. She also put James on the waiting list for evaluation at the Collaborative Autism Diagnostic (CAD) Clinic. It would be five months before he was seen at the CAD Clinic, and James was very fortunate to begin receiving services in May.
No comments:
Post a Comment