Two Down Two To Go

Well Jackson had his first appointment with the Speech Development Specialist yesterday. I went in pretty much knowing what to expects since we have been in speech therapy for about a year and I am not oblivious to his speech delay. Jackson did pretty well, or as well as I thought he would, during his evaluation. We started in her office and he was very easily distracted by the computer and all the chairs etc but he was able to complete almost all of the activities that she had requested of him. There were only three that he really didn't want to do. We then moved the meeting to their play room where she set out a lot of toys and then we just observed him playing for 5 minutes on his own. She then started to interact with him again and they played with play doh, had a snack, played with a push button toy, jack in the box and then ended with playing with bubbles and an airplane. Which Jackson's new favorite things are airplanes (we are very big fans of Dusty Crophopper), I say that because giving the toy back at the end of the session went as well as taking a toy from any 3 year old would go. The doctor and I then had a short mini meeting and she asked if it was typical behavior for him and I had to tell her he was a lot cranker today then he normally is, but other than that no it was about average. So one appointment down and two to go.
Our next appointment is going to be next week Wednesday and we are meeting with the behavior therapist that time. I am not sure what all that meeting is going to involve or even how long it lasts so I guess it will be a surprise to not only Jackson but for me as well. I am really ready for this whole process to be over with so that way we can move on and start getting him the help that he needs. Jason and I are pretty sure already what the outcome will be, but we could always be surprised I guess.
Things that we have to look forward to though that are not doctors appointments are: Jackson was bumped up to the Junior 1 class in swimming lessons so Jason and I no longer swim with him. H will have his first lesson in his new class this weekend! Jackson's 3rd Birthday! I cannot believe that this much time has passed already and that he is going to be three! Jason and I took Jackson's birthday off from work and we are going to head up to Frankenmuth on his birthday to the indoor water park. Then, we are having a big party at BounceU which is and indoor inflatables place here in Michigan. We have 9 kids going to his party and a lot of mine and Jason's friends from work are going to be coming too. Also, both sets of grandparents are going to be coming early and spending sometime with us and they will be there on the big party day!   Last but not least of course is the Super Bowl, we will have the grandparents here and it should be quite the event since my Mom is a Broncos fan.

One Down Three To Go

Jason and I had Jackson's first appointment out of four for his autism screening. I think that it went very well. I felt really prepared and did my part to help the process along. I had evaluations printed from his speech teacher and preschool teacher, the parent packet was filled out and all Jackson's medical documents were faxed over in time. Yay!

Jason and I didn't really know how this meeting was going to go or what to expect but mainly it was just a chance for us to go through the parent packet and discuss any concerns we had, have any questions answered and give a little more detail into Jackson. I asked if we go through this process and it turns out he does not have autism if they are able to guide us in the right direction or give a diagnosis if something else is there and they said that they would be able to do that which was a relief for me. I don't know if anyone knows but we were on a waiting list for 3 month before even being able to schedule our appointments then it was about 3 weeks before we could even go in for our first appointment. Needless to say it has been a long process already so I didn't want to get to the end of it and be left with no clue if something else is wrong with my child or what I should do next.

Now that the first appointment is done Jackson will be going for the next two appointments. His first is on Jan. 29th and that is the speech and language development. It sounds like it is very similar to his speech sessions with Emily which is play based so I was relieved to hear that. They will also be having a snack and do a few other things during the evaluation. I was nervous that since he still has some separation anxiety from me that it wouldn't go well, but I get to be in the room so I can observe and let her know if this is typical behavior for him and also to help with some of the language difficulties. Also, I was worried because the session is an hour and a half and I don't know how well he will last during that in one small room.

This process has been very interesting for me since I've read about it and semi-studied it during my teaching courses, but there is nothing like going through it with your own child. Fortunately for us Jackson continues to grow and be happy through all of this and isn't getting very frustrated. He is continuing to make progress with his speech and surprises us all the time. (Last night he wanted to read me his bedtime stories and he did very well with Little Blue Truck and part of Max the Minnow). I get excited as he continues to try new words and continues to practice stringing together two word and some three word sentences because he has the cutest little voice and it's so fun to hear. He is also starting to make more of an effort with the kids at school to make and maintain his friendships. Ellis and Arya are always going to be his go to buddies and it takes us extra time to leave now due to hugs and fist bumps. We will continue to keep everyone updated as things progress.

2016

Happy 2016 everyone! I hope that everyone had a very safe and Happy New Year! I was just looking back through my old posts and I saw that I haven't really been on here since Jackson turned 1! Which is crazy since we are closing in on his 3rd birthday next month. Here's a little cap on our family and then I will give you a brief overview as to why I am back.

Jason: Jason is in the middle of his third year of residency! Yay we are moving a long and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Jason recently accepted a contract from Sanford in Fargo, ND starting in the summer of 2017 and we cannot wait! He's still plugging away though and has recently started studying for boards although his senioritis (which shouldn't even be kicking in yet) has gotten a lot worse since he got his contract. 

Me: I am still working at KinderCare in the Pre-K classroom. The group I have this year is keeping me on my toes for sure. I am still plugging away at getting them kindergarten ready and I think that by the summer we should be good to go. I also am keeping very busy with Jackson since he is a very very active little boy!

Jackson: has recently started swimming lessons and loves being in the water which is great since his Dad isn't the biggest swimmer. He also started music class at school this last fall which has been a great way for him to get a break during the long school week and it has been so fun to watch him with his new instruments. Jackson still loves to read books and really loves to watch movies. We have to remind him that he doesn't get movies often which sometimes breaks his little heart but he of course like most kids gets over it quickly and moves on. 

Some things you may already know or may have suspected is that our little family has been dealing with some small bumps along the way with Jackson. He is like I said a wonderful, outgoing and active child but he is non-verbal. Shortly after his first birthday we noticed a gap forming between himself and his peers in language development. As a paranoid parent that I am I requested an appointment for his hearing to be tested and of course that turned out normal. As we approached his second birthday and noticed a wider and wider gap growing in his language skills we requested an appointment with his pediatrician for a referral for a speech evaluation. I took him in and after the evaluation it was recommended that we start speech therapy on a weekly basis to try and catch him up.

We have noticed over the past few months that Jackson has made a lot of progress with his speech and continues to try and imitate (which I am so excited for because he has the cutest little voice), however he isn't progressing as quickly as his speech therapist had hoped. So, back to the pediatrician we go and now we are going to be visiting with a developmental pediatrician to have him evaluated for autism. Now although the results of that evaluation will not change anything for Jason and I, we will always love our baby boy and we will continue to support him and challenge him, I worry about the future. I worry about the therapy that he may need to help with his little quirks, our move to Fargo and how that will interrupt our little family routine and how Jackson will handle the changes, how new people and kids will interact with him, how friendships will work in the coming years, how school will go for him. I am now worrying all the time about him even more than I did before. As it is with every parent I just want my son to be loved and accepted as much as I love and accept him. I know I am getting ahead of myself because we could go through this whole evaluation and it could come back that he is just slower at speech, who knows. 

I guess I just wanted everyone to know what our little family is going through and I am going to keep you posted as things develop. We have our first appointment with just Jason and I Jan. 15 and then it's  2 other appointments with just Jackson and 1 final one with Jason and I before we get the diagnosis sometime in Feb. 

Coming into the New Year I have a lot to be thankful for that my family is HAPPY and healthy. Jason and I have a strong foundation in our relationship and are prepared to face whatever comes our way as a team. Wishing you all a wonderful 2016!