Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Isaiah's Evaluation

Thanks for your prayers - I have felt totally at peace with the evaluation today. I knew there were going to be a few things that he would score a little low on, so I wasn't surprised with the results.

The evaluation went well. We are being referred for further evaluation because there are some developmental delays (he scored a little low in communication and adaptive skills - the adaptive skills are life skills such as being able to dress himself and using a fork and spoon). Gwyn (the lady doing Isaiah's evaluation), is unable to tell us if it's because of high functioning autism - legally she can't. That will have to wait for a bit. Isaiah will be referred on to the next group for further evaluation, which will be scheduled in 4 to 6 weeks from now. After that, we will have a meeting to discuss what services Isaiah may need. I'm not worried about it - as long as my little man gets the help he needs if there is a problem.

I wasn't thinking about all of the times he has anaphylaxed, maybe that has something to do with his delays. In any case, Isaiah is still the same Isaiah that I know - it's not like these delays are fatal. =0)


Gwyn also mentioned that we might have to home school Isaiah because of his allergies (the state will provide a person to teach Isaiah at home . . . I think it's called homebound, but Isaiah will still have social interaction outside of the house). The major concern is the amount of school Isaiah could miss because of his allergies and the masto (and the possibility of him coming into contact with the allergies and masto reactions at school). There has also been a new policy put into effect in our county where students are required to carry and administer their own Epi pens. That sounds all fine and dandy, but Isaiah cannot administer his own Epis. Not only is he too young to really know how to do that (and still keep his wits about him), but his reactions happen way too fast. The other option was to have the school nurse administer the Epis. Well that would be fine if Isaiah could wait long enough for the nurse to get to where he is (I shiver thinking about the nurse being all the way on the other side of the school). Isaiah's teachers would have to be the ones to administer the Epis - his reactions happen way too fast, and time is crucial. This is one thing I will send on to MKO (mastokids.org) so that we can get some more support. Who knows? We might be able to change a policy. =0)

Anyway, back to the evaluation. As far as Isaiah's social skills, speech development (which is tons clearer within the past week or so), motor skills, and cognitive skills . . . he's doing good. He scored really high with his social skills and cognitive development (he showed her that he could add and subtract, multiply a little, count, say his ABCs, he showed her the letters, he knew his colors and shapes . . . Goober!). =0) He even told Gwyn to go wash her hands! =0) Hahaha!! (we usually tell my nephews when they come in to go wash their hands before they play with the toys - Isaiah will break out if they have touched something he is sensitive to). It's a good thing she took that well. =0)


She also had toys . . . yeh, he destroyed her office. Of course, I didn't leave her office without helping Isaiah pick up his mess . . . and she saw just how irritated he gets when you pick up something he has carefully placed on the floor. =0) Yeh, she picked up his "tea party" while I picked up the Lego's . . . he was not a happy camper!

Thanks, again, for your prayers. I cannot help but be thankful for Isaiah and even the trials the little guy has gone through. As much as I hate to see him in pain, there are always blessings in the storms. I have learned so much from Isaiah that I might not have learned otherwise. That doesn't mean that I don't want to see Isaiah healed, but I most certainly don't think that there is something "wrong" with my son. He is Isaiah - nothing has changed about him, just my perspective and plans. But what are my plans, anyway, if they aren't really God's plans?

Well, that's all for tonight from us. =0) It's waaaayyyy past my bedtime!


Blessings,
Kelly

2 comments:

Shanan Strange said...

I found you on MckMama's blog this morning and wanted to stop in and say Hello. I was reading your story on Isiah and wanted to tell you what a beautiful boy he is. I'm looking forward to reading your older blogs to catch up on him. What a wonderful blog you have!

Carla (Choosing His Joy) said...

Hi Kelly,
I am glad the evaluation went well. Chelsea struggled with much of what Isaiah is struggling with when she was his age. We attributed it all to how often she was sick and how often she had to be in the hospital (and consequently away from all other children so she wouldnt get sick from one of them).

Once we got her healthy enough to be around other kids she started learning to interact and is now doing well. It has taken the last 2 years to get her caught up with her peers in those developmental areas, but the key is that she caught up on her own, with some help from mom : ).

She is now in 1st grade and is the girl everyone wants to play with--which cracks me up.

I hope this encourages you, and I hope Isaiah will receive the help he needs.

BTW I homeschool part time--we go to a homeschool academy that has the children attend school there on Monday and Wednesday, and has us homeshcooling Tues, Thurs, and Fri.. We love it, and with the kids health issues--the two days is just enough for Chelsea.

I dont know fi Gavin will be able to go there or not, so I already planned to homeschool him full time. We will try having him attend the academy next year for Pre-K, but dont know if it will work or not.

My kids love homeschooling and still have plenty of opportunities to play with other kids. We are involved in lots of church activities, and all of my daughter's best friends from church also attend the homeschool academy and they are in the same class. She also is in an art class with her best friend and kids come over regularly to our house to play. So Gavin is regularly with other kids and Chelsea's friends love Gavin as much as they love her. It is great!

Take Care,
Carla