Home Visit {11.09.12}

Sarah had a home visit from her EI coordinator this morning.  It's been about six weeks since we had one and Sarah was delighted to see her friend Wendy again!  We talked about all the great improvements that Sarah has made and I was able to ask some questions that have been on my mind. As a way to have a general idea of where Sarah is developmentally, Wendy asks me a series of questions about Sarah and I answer them to the best of my ability.  Based on my answers and some discussion, Sarah's developmental age is scored on a series of skills and we are then able to go from there.  Now, I'm a visual kind of person so with my tools I have at my finger tips, I prepared a graph to show me (and now you) where she is *at*.

You can see three colors.  Each color has two lines.  The thick straight line is when the assessment was done and the thinner, jagged line places her age at each developmental stage.  Because she grows slower than other kids, the gaps between her current age and her skill level are growing.  That's going to be expected.

It also looks like this:

Fine Motor: 39-40 months (13-14 months behind)

Gross Motor: 38-39 months (13-14 months behind)

Receptive Language: 38-39 months (13-14 months behind) 

Expressive Language: 38-39 months (13-14 months behind) 

Auditory Memory: 33-34 months (19-20 months behind)

Visual Memory: 27-28 months (25-26 months behind)

Self Help: 37-38 months (15-16 months behind)

Social: 51-52 months (1-2 months behind)

You can see how that in most areas of development, aside from her social skills, she is considerably behind the majority of most kids her age.  To Wendy and I, this explains why many people think Sarah should be with other four year olds... her social skills are right where they should be and that's the outward appearance that *you* see.  What isn't seen, are the inside things, like what's going on in her head.  The words she says and understands, what she sees and remembers, hears and remembers and her ability to self help are the skills that aren't quite where her peers are at.  In fact, her visual memory ability is just over where a two year old is at.  This is why (in my opinion), that a school setting isn't where she needs to be or where I want her to be.  I was assured that her arm flapping is most likely just a reaction to excitement or frustration because she doesn't have the vocabulary to express herself in words. 

Overall, Wendy's visit was wonderful.  I love having someone who supports me in all my decisions and understands me.  She has become a great source of information for me and has always been able to answer my questions.  She also supports my decisions and encourages me, including (and especially) the area of homeschooling. 

For tonight, I tuck my precious little girl into bed and thank God for the blessing she is to me.  I wouldn't trade her for the world.  I will fight for her, ensure that she is happy, safe and feels confident in the places she's in.  I will protect her to the end and I can see the same protectiveness from her daddy, big brother and older sisters.  Her grandparents, aunts and uncles adore her.  She will be encouraged, challenged and loved every day. 

Have a great weekend!