This morning Early On came for the speech evaluations that I requested. I didn't know it but they don't just do a speech eval. The first visit is an overall evaluation. So they tested 6 areas, fine motor (fm), gross motor (gm), cognitive (cog), communication (com), social emotional (se), and self help and coping (shc). I was suprised by this overall testing, but happy to move on with it because it would give us much more information than we originally thought. The kids did pretty well. They did clam up a small amount, but the ladies that were here did great and took into consideration what Josh and I had to say about their "normal" behaviors. Here are the results for each of the kids.
Keep in mind that the kids are a few days away from 31 months. All results are listed in months.
Aiden: Aiden is the most advanced of all three just as we had expected.
fm: 33-36
gm: 30-33
cog: 33-36
com: 27-30
se: 33-36
shc: 32-36
Aiden's speech is his lowest area and that is mainly because he's not being challenged to up his level of comprehension and speech because Malachi and Madelynn's speech levels are lower than his. The recommendation is to provide more interactions with other kids besides his siblings. We are going to be sure to set up several playdates with our friends and we'll also be participating in playdates arranged with Lenawee's Child during the summer months.
They also did a hearing screening on Aiden. Not a normal test like Malachi has done. It just tests the functioning of the parts of the ear. His left ear didn't pass so they said they'd check it again in a few weeks. I chose NOT to wait and made him an appointment for a normal hearing test and an ENT appointment with the same doctor that has handled Malachi's hearing issues. This appointment is June 10th so more to come on that.
Madelynn: Maddie did well in most areas. Her lowest area is speech which is why we wanted her evaluated. It wasn't a suprise to us. We will sign a consent form next Tuesday when we meet to review the reports. Then she'll get an more indepth speech evaluation done. Speech will start some time this summer if she qualifies, which I'm sure she will. The only hang up may be that Early On thins their schedule during the summer so we may have to go through our insurance and to a speech clinic to get her the services she needs more frequently. I want her to catch up so we'll do whatever is needed. Here are her scores...
fm: 33-36
gm: 30-36
cog: 33-36
se: 33-36
shc: 30-36
com: This was broken into two parts because they varied. Expressive: 18-21 months and Receptive: 24-27 months. Her understanding of speech is better than what she's able to produce herself.
Maddie had the same hearing test as Aiden with the same results. She will join him on June 10th.
Malachi: Where do I even begin??? First let me say that the first time I saw him when they put him in my arms at the hospital, I had an uneasy feeling. I just knew that something wasn't right. First it was reflux, then problems with his circumcision (because he refluxed during the surgery), then he kept failing his carseat test, then more reflux issues, an upper GI, difficult feeding, then t moved on to gross motor development, but nothing else. He didn't respond to us or his siblings, he played by himself, he was just different. No one believed me. We always got the "you are just overwhelmed because you have triplets, nothing is wrong with him, you can't compare him to his siblings" and more along those lines. But still, every time I looked at him, I knew there was something that I just couldn't put my finger on it. Finally at his 1 year appointment, I convinced the doctor that something wasn't right and I didn't think he was hearing. She send us to the Toledo Children's Hospital and sure enough, he failed his hearing test miserably! We went to the ENT and a few weeks later, he got tubes. Instantly he could hear. So, he starts to hear, starts babbling, eventually moves on to real words. At 31 months he has a vocabulary of about 20 words. Josh and I are thrilled with his improvements, but knew his speech was still "a bit" behind...or so we thought! Here's where my anger and tears form...
THE 13 MONTHS I TRIED TO CONVINCE THE WORLD THAT MY BABY WASN'T RIGHT PUT HIM BEHIND 16 MONTHS!!!!!
My son's speech is at a 15 1/2 - 18 month level because no one would listen to me. Not only that, but his other skills are delayed too. Here are his scores...
fm: 24-27
gm: 30-36
cog: 24-27
com: 15 1/2-18
se: 24-30
shc: 27-30
Malachi didn't have his hearing tested because he was just checked at the ENT on April 8th. Both tubes are out and he's hearing in normal range. :)
We had out choice of what to do next for evaluations, just speech which he is VERY delayed in or do a 'team evaluation' which covers Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech, and Pyschologist to test his cognitive levels. We've chosen the team approach so that Malachi can recieve ALL the services that he needs to catch up. His appointment is Next Tuesday, May 19th. This is really fast, as they had a cancelation. Normally it takes up to a month or more to get this type of appointment! At least that is a plus that we're getting in quickly!
So, here's my thoughts and feelings. I'm thrilled with Aiden's abilities and Maddie's too. She'll most likely get speech which is what I expected. I'm truly disappointed with Malachi's results. It was a real slap in the face for me because I didn't expect him to be low across the board. I'm a teacher. I know the services available and how much they can help. I know the speech that teachers and service providers give to parents. I know all that, but I'm still pissed off! He's my baby. I want him to be perfect but he's presented with another problem. I feel like the world is pooping on my son and don't know what he or I ever did to deserve all of this. I don't handle things like this well at all. I look up to people who have children with many more difficulties than my own, but still I feel like someone is out to get my little boy. I believe he'll be fine after he recieves the services. Hopefully he won't need them when he gets in school. If he does, we'll deal with it. I certainly want whats best for him, but how/when do I reach the point when I can look at him and not see him as broken?
Feel free to leave comments asking any questions if you have them or you can email me.
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