Step Three- Results

Last Thursday, we had the call with the behavioral psychologist. It was a forty minute call! Russ was suppose to be on the phone with me but with two kids with colds, and the kids not ready for bed, it resulted in me taking the call solo while he dealt with the kids.

In a nutshell:

- He recommends that Aiden be put in a special purpose preschool so that he can have more one-on-one attention to help with his attention and behavior. He doesn't understand boundaries.

- He recommends that we see a behavioral psychologist for behavioral counseling. We need to figure out what is that one thing that will motivate Aiden to correct his behavior.

- He recommends that we do keep him at the preschool we signed him up with for at least the summer program.

- He also recommends speech therapy.

- He stated that on the standardized test, Aiden scored in the top 3-5% for attention which doesn't mean "Woo-Hoo- he can pay attention." It means, he is very likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, which didn't surprise us.

- He recommends after much therapy, he gets re-evaluated. He wants to see if as he language grows, his behavior issues, lack of play and lack of social interaction interest changes. If it doesn't, then he wants Aiden to be tested more to see if he needs a diagnosis of some sort. At his young age of three (very early three, I mean), sometimes language development can delay all of the above...sometimes, it doesn't.

How do we feel about this?! Great! We agree, and we are now just crossing our fingers and saying our prayers that he does get put in these programs, and that we can afford what we need to contribute for him.

Ironically enough, after we called CDS- what a month ago, he started trying to link more words together. This week, he has taken an interest in block building and using his tool belt. First time for everything...and man, they know how to try to prove us wrong when they don't even know they are doing it!

Dang kids!

Mother's Day Present

I am finding it harder and harder to come up with ideas for our parent's for holidays. I feel like all I do is give pictures. I saw this idea online:



I thought it was an excellent idea to capture the moment, and it can be easily replaced every year or so...it was easy and quick! Here is my finished product: (the thread for my hand is an aqua color and can be seen but hard to see in the photo- just click on the photo for a better look)

Step Two and Three of Many in Process

We had Aiden's speech evaluation on Monday. He did perfect. Meaning- he acted and tested the way I wanted him too. I wanted him to be the way he is for us. It sounds horrible, but I really want him to get services so in order for him to get them, I need him to be at his worst! Don't get me wrong, he was trying so hard to be good and for the most part he behaved, but his personality and lack of attention came through.

It was nice of the evaluator to note that she thought it was great how well I follow through when disciplining Aiden. It is so tiring to always follow through but it was nice to get it noticed.

My mother got the call from the behavioral psychologist this am as well. Do I sink my head in shame when he says to her, "God Bless you," when he was referring to how she has provided daycare for him for most of his life or do I laugh because and smile with glee because he recognizes what we deal with???

Case in point- Aiden is three and knows there are certain things he shouldn't touch. You say but he is three. Well, I have friends that can keep their phones on end tables or on the wall, and their children or child does not play with it. With Aiden- you have to baby proof everything in sight because he just can't resist. He climbed up and got ahold of a Sharpie and wrote all over my mother's rug, wall, oak table, window and window sill yesterday...

The day before, he unlocked the door and went outside where traffic speeds up to 50 or more in a 35 mph zone.

STRESS!!!!!

Great Gift Idea

Looking to do something different for your hubby this father's day??? Or for an anniversary or birthday??? Hire me to make a video for you! Regardless of time spent- it is a flat rate of $40 with a custom label on your DVD. I will ship it to you or deliver it to you. I just need you to get me the photos you want to use. If you have special music, you can send me a file or let me borrow the CD...or I can download it. I will work with you to make a special video for your special someone. Here is a video I created for my husband for his second father's day...The one I made for last year won't post- I guess it is too big- over 17 minutes long! I have made these videos for each Father's day as well as for our 10 year anniversary. I have also made these for close friends as a special way to say, "I care about us and cherish our friendship."

Step One of Many In Process...

Aiden had his assessment with the behavioral psychologist yesterday. The doctor went through our own personal history, Aiden's health history, daycare history, etc. Then Russ and E went into the waiting room, while I observed Aiden interact with the doctor. He used Connect Four to get him engaged and get him talking. Aiden quickly lost interest and the doctor took out a playhouse for them to play with. Again, Aiden quickly lost interest when he saw a Sesame Street game. This went on like this with every activity. which didn't surprise me.

Russ and I still have more assessment forms to fill out and mail back. The doctor is going to call my mother since she is the daycare provider, and then we have a call next Thursday evening to hear his report.

His initial feelings- he feels Aiden is very speech delayed and he is concerned about him going into preschool without anyone giving him one-on-one time.

My mind is swimming with thoughts, and I already feel drained. What does this all mean??? I know we are doing the right thing so I am not questioning that---just wondering what else will be determined and how we go from here.

It was interesting because the doctor asked us what we wanted out of this evaluation. We told him we were not sure what we could get out of it but we wanted to know why our child isn't motivated to learn how to talk, why he isn't motivated by any stimuli to change his behavior using both negative reinforcements or positive reinforcements. Why does our child not like to play?

I am anxious to hear his thoughts...

Popsicles!

Eating rules for babies and toddlers- throw the handbook out on Eli! He was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at 11 months old! (Maybe even 10 months old!)

Well, I buy these great little Popsicles to bride Aiden with to finish dinner- they are the Mighty Minis by Popsicle brand or something like that. They are ultra small, and they don't drip much because they put a bit of gelatin in them.



A few Sundays ago, Aiden was napping, I was outside doing yard work, and Russ was inside with Eli. I happened to go in for something, and Russ just pulled a creamsicle out of the freezer. Well, Eli made it clear that he wanted one. He anchored his feet, stretched his arms straight down and screeched- letting us know that he wanted on too, Dang it!

I suggested to Russ to take Eli outside on the steps to eat the Popsicles together... here are some photos of that great moment shared between Daddy and son...

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Easter day- We had a great morning, and we were only off by our regular schedule by half an hour. (Aiden thrives on schedule.) All of the running around at Aunt KK's and Uncle Tim's exhausted Aiden, and he was immediately asleep in the car. He woke up when we pulled into the driveway, and he wouldn't go back to sleep. He kept getting out of bed. He pooped twice, had to pee, etc. He threw such a fit that he screamed for 20 minutes and foamed at the mouth! Russ and I felt like failures. Aiden is getting more and more frustrated. We had been celebrating all of his accomplishments, but in reality, his accomplishments in speech and some cognitive areas are way behind. He is very smart- don't get me wrong, but he has just started building sentences and the phrases, "I love you" and "good night" were the only phrases for months.

On Monday am, we decided we had really had enough of Aiden's physical abuse towards his brother. Eli is a scratching post for Aiden. We had enough of the fits. I had emailed Aiden's previous case manager at Child Development Services a week prior without hearing anything back. (Turns out he doesn't work there anymore.) If you recall, he didn't qualify for services because he just squeaked by. If you don't remember, you can read all about it here
. And the results of his day here. I called his pediatrician and asked them for help. I asked for speech referrals and behavior specialist referrals. They called CDS for me, and we learned that the behavior specialists around us are all booked a year out! Nuts, huh?! Well, the past few weeks have concluded in three up-coming appointments, and we will learn if he qualifies for anything. If not, we will be on our own and through private insurance (which doesn't cover most of the services we are looking to get for Aiden). I also learned that CDS doesn't provide services to kiddos during the summer unless they have already had services and shown that they regress. So...no matter what- we will be putting Aiden in speech therapy for the summer.

Ironically enough, Aiden started building sentences last week and has been putting more words together- regardless, he will show that he is behind---but again, I am afraid of him just squeaking by...

It has been hard for me to blog about this. Russ and I have tried so hard to work with Aiden, and we are constantly on him with his behavior. We feel like it is our fault that nothing motivates him and that he is so carefree. Everything just rolls off of that kid, and negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, etc just hasn't worked. We are frustrated...we wonder what we have done wrong. You might say we didn't, and deep down we know that...but honestly, we feel the way we do because we love him and want the best for him. We feel like we lacked in something in raising him...we wonder...we worry...we are parents.