By the way, see the disgusting sidewalk they are walking on? Ella ate fruit snacks off that sidewalk. Foul.
As for my insane little boy, he had an intake appointment for speech therapy today! He really has basically no words so I called the regional center to get him evaluated for speech delay. Yes, I know he is only 16.5 months old, but it takes a LONG time to get the ball rolling so I wanted to be proactive. And no, I am NOT worried...it's funny that as soon as you mention speech therapy, everyone tells you how their kid didn't talk until 2 and is just fine, blah, blah. He is very smart, loving, curious, outgoing and super social.
The only reason I called so soon is because he is a complete nightmare most of the time. He was the easiest, calmest, happiest baby, who has become the fussiest kid ever! He will just walk around the house and cry, and I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that he can't communicate what he wants (the other part is that he is a boy and basically requires being outdoors 100% of the time, which just isn't possible!).
It has been really difficult going from such an easy, laidback kid (Ella) to a very high maintenance fussy kid (Everett). We don't know how to deal with it! Luckily, when he is happy and smiley, there is just no one cuter in the world! He really does have the cutest smile on earth. ;)
So anyway, the girl that does the intake, does the autism assessment (we're all good there), and then determines if she will recommend a full evaluation or an evaluation for one thing. She believes Everett only needs an evaluation for speech (as opposed to possibly needing occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.). She said he is clearly very social, his fine motor skills seem great, he has no eating issues, etc. Her only concern is that he has regressed a bit- he used to wave, and he doesn't do it anymore, and we *think* he used to have some words, but he doesn't say them anymore. I wasn't worried about that at all because Ella did that all the time- as soon as she learned something new, she dropped other things- but hey, if that concern will get him into speech therapy, let's go with it!
She now goes back and has a meeting with her supervisor, a pediatric nurse and a therapist, and they determine what Everett might need. She then calls me on Wednesday to set up the appointment with the speech therapist (and any other necessary appointments), who will do a detailed report. He needs to be delayed at least 33% in any one area to qualify for services.
My only concern is that since he is a preemie, they use his adjusted age, which obviously will make him less likely to qualify for services since he will be considered 6 weeks younger than he actually is. Cross your fingers that we qualify so that Little Mr. Frustrated can get his point across...he clearly has A LOT to say! ;)
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