Early Intervention success

Liam first met with the developmental pediatrician on November 3, 2009.  He had already been doing Early Intervention for 2 months and was 26 months old. At that time, the developmental pediatrician estimated his receptive language to be that of a 16 month old (about a 10 month delay) and his expressive  language skills to be that of a 24 month old (about an 4 month delay).  Early Intervention was providing services monthly, thouh within a month of that visit, Alabama declared he was "so improved" he only needed to be seen twice a month.  In November, the developmental pediatrician dianosed Liam with PDD-NOS and suggested we start weekly OT and speech therapy 2-3 times a week, in addition to beginning ABA.

So we followed the doctor's orders.  Dave was deployed, so I fought the paperwork battle alone, and then started at the bottom of the waitlist.  Liam gets therapy out of the house 3 days a week, in the house 2 days a week, and gets additional ABA at school.  This schedule has meant sacrificing Ben's naps, and giving up playdates for time in waiting rooms.

The developmental pediatrician wanted to followed up with Liam in 6-9 months.  It has been 8 months, and I was curious to hear what he'd think about Liam's progress.  We brought notes from his ABA tutor.  She said that Liam can answer yes/no questions about 70% of the time and still requires prompting to reciprocate social greetings. She wrote that he is using full sentences more often and able to sit still for longer periods of time.  His OT also sent us with notes.  She said that his transitions without difficulty and has infrequent behavioral outbursts of low intensity and is easily directed.  His OT noted that he still struggles with pincer grasp and is showing marked improvement in sensory integration.

Today the developmental pediatrician was able to confirm that Liam is a success story with early intervention.  His receptive language skills improved 14-16 months in the 8 month span and now are only 4-6 months delayed.  His expresssive language skills are at age level.  His fine motor skills are still ahead at 3.5 years, though obviously he needs to work on his pincer grasp. The developmental pediatrician basically said keep doing what you are doing. 

He was concerned about Liam's hyperactivity.  In the last 6 months, Liam has developed a sensory seeking behavior of running and crashing, and the doctor suspects that Liam will require medication to keep him calm in a school setting.  This crushed me as I didn't see this possibility coming, though I agree Liam's energy is way beyond what I can manage daily.

So we'll keep up the therapy and hope for continued improvement.