Finding the Shortfalls

Brandt's annual evaluation with Early Steps is tomorrow, and I am so anxious and nervous. I don't really know what to expect, as I am not really sure what the therapists will say and how they will chart his progress.

He has definitely made lots of gains--I just hope that it is not so much so that they exit him out of the program. In my logical brain, I know that Brandt is still not where he is supposed to be, yet I feel like I need to prepare a long list of his delays to fight my case. In my logical brain, I am sure the therapists see all of these same delays, and yet I can't help but worry. I had to fight so hard to get Brandt services; I don't want anything to jeopardize that.

And, now, I feel compelled to spell it out to all of you. So, I pulled up the 22month old Ages and Stages Questionnaire, and here goes:

Communication:
Does not identify objects when pointed to and asked, "what is this."
Does not identify seven body parts (nose, eyes, ears, mouth, etc).
Does not correctly use "me, mine, I, and you."
does not say 2-3 words in sequence that represent different ideas.

Gross motor:
Des not kick a ball forward.
Does not run well without bumping into things or falling.
Does not walk up one or two steps while holding onto railing by himself.
Does not jump with both feet off the floor.

Fine motor:
Does not eat with a spoon so the food does not spill.
Does not stack 6 blocks (or two for that matter).
Does not flip switches off and on.
Does not string small items, such as beads on a shoelace.

Problem-Solving:
Does not imitate lining up blocks.
Does not pretend objects are something else.
Does not imitate drawing a straight line.
Does not turn bottle upside down to empty after a Cheerio is put inside.

Personal-Social:
Does not eat with a fork.
Does not drink from a cup or glass with little spilling.
Does not pretend to take care of a doll or stuff animal.
Does not steer push toy around objects.


So, well, yeah, that pretty much sucks. I probably shouldn't have just put myself through that. That was painful for me and irritating for Brandt. I'm noticing that there were four shortfalls in each section, but it is fair to note that there were also two things in each section that he was able to do. I wonder if I pulled up a 20 month questionnaire, how would he score? How far would I have to go back to catch his delay? Unofficially, I believe that he is about 6 months delayed across the board. But, maybe tomorrow will give me a better idea on where he is at and what more I can do for him.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow is not another endless battle.