just got back from the drs office

frankiesmom

frankiesmom

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well, the developmental pediatrician says that he has a cognitive level of a 4-6 month old and that all of those issues are completely separate from the hearing, due to the fine motor skills/eating issues and a few other issues besides.
its really not anything we werent fairly sure of anyways, so at least we know for sure now.
she is writing the director of the deaf preschool (i actually worked things out with her, regarding his eating requirements!) to see if we can get him into the infant class rather than the toddler class.
 
I know that you are glad to finally know what you are dealing with and to have a definate starting place for intervention. It's great that your pediatrician is willing to get involved with the pre-school.

Cognitive level of 4-6 months? I would say definately continue the sign then. I had the opportunity to start using sign with one of my great nieces from birth. I took care of her during the day from the time she was born until she was 15 months old. By the time she was 6 months old, she was making pretty accurrate attempts at producing signs to communicate with me. So, I know that she had been taking things in receptively for quite some time before that. With your son's problems with fine motor skills, he may have more difficulty with the expressive use of sign, but even at that cognitive level, will still be taking a lot in receptively. The use of sign language in kids with developmental delays has really become a sought out therapy that allows them the ability to communicate when other problems would prevent it. With the swallowing problems, he will no doubt have some difficulty learning to use his speech mechanisms, as well. His fine motor skills will no doubt progress at a quicker rate.

You know, several of us around here have kind of adopted Frankie! You have been so generous in sharing your child with us, and I know that I am very interested in keeping up with his progress. I hope you will stick around for a long time to come.
 
oh i will..i have learned so much from you guys!
the problem we are having with him doing anything is that he hasnt learned how to imitate people or even notice that much..he does, but i dont know.. its hard to explain. i think he will learn, but its going to take a very long time. which is ok, we are here for him! and i know the school will listen to this lady because that was part of the issue, she told me that "he doesnt have anything cognitively wrong with him", even thought it was glaringly obvious..pff. i at least want to try and now i think it will be fine..we emailed each other all afternoon and hammered it out.
 
ok...i wrote the deaf school lady again, and here is her response.

"We deal with all different levels of cognitive development in each age group. Because of his size and mobility skills it will be better to have him in the toddler class. We’ll make accommodations for him in the curriculum. I assure you that we can and do address children in our program individually. He will only be expected to do what he is capable of doing. Let’s try it and see how it goes."
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do you think this is a blow off letter or she is sincere? now my husband is wondering about sending him, because hes not sure what good it will do until he overcomes some of his delays.
 
Wirelessly posted (droid)

That logic doesn't make sense. Don't send him to a place that might help him until he has been helped? If the school believes that it is an appropriate placement, I'd give it a try. I know that there are safety concerns with eating, so you need to know that's adequately covered. If the placement doesn't work, you can always try something else. Unfortunately, there's probably going to be some trial and error. Then again, that's true of all parenting to a certain extent.
 
frankiesmom said:
ok...i wrote the deaf school lady again, and here is her response.

"We deal with all different levels of cognitive development in each age group. Because of his size and mobility skills it will be better to have him in the toddler class. We’ll make accommodations for him in the curriculum. I assure you that we can and do address children in our program individually. He will only be expected to do what he is capable of doing. Let’s try it and see how it goes."
---
do you think this is a blow off letter or she is sincere? now my husband is wondering about sending him, because hes not sure what good it will do until he overcomes some of his delays.
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I don't think she's blowing you off. The feeding issue can and should be properly addressed and handled at school.

The problem with putting him in a class with infants is that he won't have peers to model appropriate behavior, language, and interactions. It could potentially slow his development rather than being an ideal placement. I'd give the toddler class a fair shot, even going in to volunteer so that you are comfortable with his surroundings.
 
Yes, I'd agree with that. You said he was walking a little bit, right? So perhaps there could be a concern that a child who walks unsteadily might possibly injure infants who are in the same room, if he should fall on them or something.

I'd give the toddler class a try too. You won't know 'til you try it.

And definitely second the recommendation that you volunteer there, too. A couple days a week might tell you a lot about how Frankie is doing.
 
good points, definitely. i am not overly concerned with him modeling anyone because so far, he has yet to do that with his siblings and other children he sees regularly..but the falling on a smaller child is definitely a possibility and that wouldnt be good at all.
 
Well, there is also the advantage of having him in a class where the kids might be just a bit more advanced in motor skills than he is. It will probably serve as an encouragement to him to try things he hasn't tried up to now. It is always better to put him somewhere where the others are a bit more advanced rather than a bit more delayed. But I would be careful about the degree of difference. Too much of an advance in the others could also serve as a source of frustration in him, or lead the teacher to expect more than he is capable of at this moment. Just be aware. If you see things that are not appropriate, address them immediately with the school.

You will probably see more modeling behavior from him simply as a result of that environment. He will be in the company of his peers...kids close to his own age and developmental level. He will be more inclined to engage in modeling behavior as a result.
 
It's too bad they don't have a special needs program at this school.
But I would continue with the ASL. It is very possible he understands more then he can express. Not to mention that he will prolly have significent spoken language delays. Even kids with learning disabilties very often have spoken language delays.
 
sallylou said:
Wirelessly posted (droid)

That logic doesn't make sense. Don't send him to a place that might help him until he has been helped? If the school believes that it is an appropriate placement, I'd give it a try. I know that there are safety concerns with eating, so you need to know that's adequately covered. If the placement doesn't work, you can always try something else. Unfortunately, there's probably going to be some trial and error. Then again, that's true of all parenting to a certain extent.
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what i meant is that currently, he cant use his hands.
we are going to at least try, since she has somewhat conceded to the dr orders.
 
ok...do they have those communication boards for deaf children? i keep hearing about them but everything i have found about them relates to autistic kids..i am wondering if he would have an easier time with this first, and then eventually, when he has developed more, move on to sign language? he cant use his hands, but he can bat at things..of course that would require him understanding what it was for...:dance2::dance2::dance2: i could go crazy finding a solution i think!
 
frankiesmom said:
ok...do they have those communication boards for deaf children? i keep hearing about them but everything i have found about them relates to autistic kids..i am wondering if he would have an easier time with this first, and then eventually, when he has developed more, move on to sign language? he cant use his hands, but he can bat at things..of course that would require him understanding what it was for...:dance2::dance2::dance2: i could go crazy finding a solution i think!
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How old is Frankie?

There are supplementary aids and devices that can be used, including an iPad with apps that assist in communication. I'd almost caution you against that at this point though.

My concern would be putting another barrier between him and the world, not allowing for direct communication. My other concern would be that he would rely on technology to communicate, rather than communicating himself. I'd keep that in mind for the future, bit for now I'd say keep signing with him.

His expressive language will come, you'll just have to give him some time. Pay close attention... If you keep signing with him he likely will start signing back. It won't be the exact sign in the beginning, but more of an approximation. You'll be able to figure it out in the context of the situation. A sign approximation in the early stages is as good as gold.
 
frankiesmom said:
ok...do they have those communication boards for deaf children? i keep hearing about them but everything i have found about them relates to autistic kids..i am wondering if he would have an easier time with this first, and then eventually, when he has developed more, move on to sign language? he cant use his hands, but he can bat at things..of course that would require him understanding what it was for...:dance2::dance2::dance2: i could go crazy finding a solution i think!
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Yes, they do. My son had 2 deaf kids at his school that also had CP and used communication boards for their expressive communication. Their receptive was ASL. That is definately an option to keep in mind if need be. The communication board will give him a sense of empowerment, and allow him to communicate with others that are not so close to him and therefore probably wouldn't understand his communication otherwise. In this case, it would be much better than a terp.
 
thats what i am saying ..he cant even make an attempt at this point. he literally does not use his hands for anything but holding his bottle and batting at toys, and he can only do that partially. physically he COULD, but he doesnt understand, if that makes sense. i cant wait for him to start occupational therapy, needless to say.
where would i buy a communication board? ive looked it up but havent found anything.
 
frankiesmom said:
thats what i am saying ..he cant even make an attempt at this point. he literally does not use his hands for anything but holding his bottle and batting at toys, and he can only do that partially. physically he COULD, but he doesnt understand, if that makes sense. i cant wait for him to start occupational therapy, needless to say.
where would i buy a communication board? ive looked it up but havent found anything.
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It would be considered a supplementary aid, which would be paid for by the county office serving your son. It just needs to be written in his IFSP.
 
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frankiesmom said:
thats what i am saying ..he cant even make an attempt at this point. he literally does not use his hands for anything but holding his bottle and batting at toys, and he can only do that partially. physically he COULD, but he doesnt understand, if that makes sense. i cant wait for him to start occupational therapy, needless to say.
where would i buy a communication board? ive looked it up but havent found anything.
Click to expand...

PECS

Lots of pecs stuff here at this site.
 
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