Music to my ears

Colin had his annual Early Intervention (EI) meeting yesterday, where all of his therapists — including those we don’t see — come over and discuss his progress and his needs. We have to do this once a year, as long as he receives services, to ensure his eligibility. 

I know from hearing other parents’ stories on some of the preemie support boards, that the EI system in Illinois is not the norm. It is far, far above the norm. And we are even more fortunate, I am sure, to be living in the city where there are many therapists in practice. For us, EI has been such a blessing. Colin has made so much progress in the past year plus, thanks to the therapy he gets. And having the therapy take place at our house makes it possible for us to continue. Because, honestly, I don’t think we could have managed twice-weekly sessions if we had to go somewhere for them.

Before this annual meeting, Colin is assessed by speech, developmental, physical and occupational therapists (and a nutritionist, this year, per our request). Then everyone comes over and discusses their findings and we decide what services Colin needs for the coming year and set goals for his development. There really aren’t any surprises at these meetings; the therapists all tell me after their assessment what they’re going to recommend. But it is interesting to hear from everyone together about how Colin is doing. 

(Because Veronica has “graduated” from therapy and is pretty much caught up with her actual age in all areas, she doesn’t need/qualify for EI services any more.)

I may be a bit biased, but I love any report about my child that starts off with the sentence, “Colin is a charming and handsome child …” All of the therapists agreed that Colin is on target or advanced in his social skills (which can be a real concern with preemies, especially those who had as many problems as Colin at the start). 

The developmental therapist was very encouraging — she only saw very minor delays from his actual age, all related to his delays in gross motor skills. She said she is quite certain that by 24 months, he’ll be functioning (developmentally) completely at his actual age. 

(They stop adjusting preemies’ ages at 24 months, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re caught up. In fact, many still lag behind their peers for years. It’s just less noticeable because you’re looking at a full years’ span of ages when you’re talking about 2-year-olds, versus the 1-month span when you’re talking about 18-month-olds.)

Colin has “graduated” to only once a month occupational therapy. He has mainly caught up in his fine motor skills, except (again) in those areas related to his gross motor skill delays. (It’s all connected, much more than I would have expected.)

He will continue with weekly physical therapy, where he continues to show a three to four month delay in skills. But everyone (including John and I) are impressed with his progress. We know now for certain that it’s a matter of when, not if, for walking. (And he’s already climbing like a monkey, so no issues there.)

He is also about three months behind in speech, but we’re going to wait three months and do another assessment rather than start on therapy now. I feel, and everyone agreed, that as soon as he starts walking, the speech is going to catch up. He is making progress already on his own, and I’d rather let him focus on catching up on his gross motor skills. (I would feel very different if he weren’t saying anything, or adding new words and signs now.)

He also will get a monthly visit from a nutritionist to help assess his diet and provide suggestions to get him gaining weight. (Her report said that his diet is basically on target, but he needs an additional 50 to 100 calories a day to start gaining — an easy task to get in my diet, but much harder than it sounds in his.)

We have been so lucky with both babies. They have overcome so much, and really seem to have beaten the odds. Colin’s problems, while frustrating, are relatively minor (yes, even his lung disease is relatively minor compared to what he could be dealing with) and quite likely things he’ll outgrow. Veronica has caught up so quickly, and continues to thrive. And that, my friends, is the best Christmas present I think I will ever get.