A Monkey Could Do Their Job Better...

Ms. Screen came today to give me the evaluations of Nate and Abby and I don't agree with them. Here's why:

1. They say Abby has a 25% delay in Adaptive. Adaptive is Self-Help. It seems they associate self-help with eating, holding a fork or spoon, or holding a sippy cup. O.K., she has just started holding her bottle and she can't use a fork or spoon nor does she eat solids... I'll say she may have a problem with that, but not for the reasons they gave me. She doesn't eat solids because I don't feed them to her. I don't feed them to her because she throws them up. How do I know? Because I try to give her pieces of a banana and cheerios once a week. I experiment to see what happens.. and she throws it up. So there's that.

2. They say she has a 25% delay in Communication. She cries. That's her communication. How else is she supposed to communicate? Ms. Screen couldn't answer that question. Is she supposed to say she is hungry? Or that she needs her diaper changed? All other 11 month old children that I know, cry. And she also cries when she needs something. I fail to see her communication barrier.

3. They say that she is fine in motor skills. Really? My 6 month old step-niece can crawl, Abby can't. My step-niece can also pick things up and move them. Abby pinches things and holds them. She doesn't move them. She doesn't drop them. And she isn't delayed in this area? I disagree.

4. They say Nate has 40% delay in Adaptive. They said he needs to learn to hold a cup, use a spoon or fork to feed himself, and ask for food/liquid with words/gestures. HE CAN HOLD A CUP! He holds his sippy. He held his sippy when she was here. He doesn't use a regular adult cup because I don't let him. I don't wanna clean a mess so he doesn't use an adult cup, but he could hold it... if I let him. He can use a spoon or fork, but like his mama, he rather use his fingers. I use my fingers when eating almost everything. So monkey see and monkey do. But when eating cereal he uses a spoon and feeds himself. And doesn't ASKING for food/liquid with words/gestures fall under COMMUNICATION?! You'd think, right?

5. He has a 25% delay in Communication. I agree with this. But it should be more if you ask me. That's his area of opprotunity. They said it wasn't higher because I have Nate and Abby on a schedule.. Well, duh... It helps to have them on a schedule so that I have some kind of idea of why they are crying rather than running around like a chicken with my head cut off. And crying is a way for an 11 month old to communicate not a 2 yr old.

Do I want something to be wrong with my child? Of course not, but there is and I have identified that there is a problem and I want to correct it. But I disagree with what the TEIS has to say.

The CDC (Child Development Center) called and said they have an opening for Nate. YAY! That I'm excited about. He'll be with other kids facing development issues as well as what they call "Role Model Kids", kids who are where they should be development wise. He'll learn from both and one of teachers is a speech therapist :D I think that is exactly what he needs. My only problem is that I have to let my baby go and be in the care of others. That makes me sad. I've been home with Nate and Abby for 9 months. I know it's only a couple of hours a week (week not day) but I don't want to miss a minute of their life. That's the only struggle I have right now is getting used to the idea that someone else will be taking care of him.