Her Speech Evaluation

Today she had her first appointment with HKIS, the state funded developmental program. Two ladies came for the eval. One played and tested Amelia while the other drilled me with questions. Amelia was very cooperative and did even more than I thought she could! She shared toys with me as well as them when asked, jumped on command, mimicked sounds they made and even did the puzzles...correctly! Ha ha. It took about an hour and a half, and when finished they went over it with me. Basically, as we know, she was on target for everything except speech and few minor communication areas (really?!) They want to work on getting her interested in book pictures and pointing to things when asked as well. That's something she really has no interest in.

So, overall, very pleased that someone that does this for a living was able to come to our home, see her in her element, and figure out what to do to help her! I'll be getting the official report in the mail in a few weeks, then we can draw up a plan special for her. Can't wait to begin!

I'm still warming up to the news given to me by the hospital on Thursday. Thank God Tammy was with me because otherwise I would not have heard anything the doctor said. To start, we arrived 20 minutes late because I got lost. Dr. Ching and a speech pathologist evaluated Amelia. She was good, but not doing the things they had laid out for her to do as well as I had hoped. After her little tests they sent us to the waiting room. Then they called us back and laid it out for us. Yes, she has a speech problem. But she also has a communication problem. She lacks the ability to relate to others, or relay her feelings. I guess, in a nutshell. So, he says it. The "A" word. And I lost it. He says she’s within the realm of an "Autism Spectrum Disorder". But diagnosing her with this can get her good help in good programs, even though she only displays some of the symptoms. She doesn't have any weird behaviors, but just needs help catching up. But still, it is so misunderstood, even I don’t. And I am not okay labeling her with that. Let’s just say she's slow, k?

Potty Introduction

We've had a long time bath routine. First we signal we're finished, I drain the tub, pick up the toys and wipe down all excess water from the floor (she is an excellent water kicker), then before I pick her up I ask her if she has pee pee and point to her vagina. She will look down and pee. So, we've established what pee pee is. Time to make the transition! Now, for the past few nights, after the bath I pick her up and place her on the pot (I have her baby seat on the toilet). No luck so far. However, just now after her nap I noticed her diaper was dry so I decided to try it. (For the record, she loves sitting up there, grins all around.) She couldn't resist digging in her vagina the entire time, but she did tinkle!! Very happy. :)