Speech Evaluation

As most of you may be aware, Ryan has been followed by Early Intervention since he was 6 months old. Early Intervention is basically a support system for children with developmental disablities or delays and provides occupational, physical & speech therapy. In some states it may be called something slightly different such as "Birth to 3" since children can be in the program until age 3. Since Ryan will be 3 in July (Yikes!), we have now started the transition to see if he will qualify for school district speech therapy. Last month we met with our school district therapy coordinator to ask questions and for her to assess Ryan's speech. It was not a formal evaluation but gave us a chance to find out what the school district therapy was all about and what would happen if he did end up needing and qualifying for services. She then came out to our house a couple weeks later for the first part of the formal evaluation...basically she needed to see how he was in his "home" environment. Earlier this week, was the second part of the evaluation in which we went to the office and met another evaluator who did tests with Ryan. These "tests" were more like play to Ryan. It was pointing things out in a book and following directions when a certain toy was put in front of him. The first toy that was on the table when we walked in was a shape puzzle. Well, I'm pretty sure I've said this before but Ryan's ability to put a puzzle together or in this case, shapes in the right hole, is phenomenal. Ryan can do 24 piece puzzles with no problem so this 6 piece puzzle was a breeze. The area where he is lacking is his ability to answer simple questions such as "what is your name?". He knows his name is Ryan but he only answers that question every so often...almost seems like only when he feels like it. Yes and No questions he either won't answer or will only answer No to. Our speech therapist says part of this is a processing delay. Ryan needs time to process what's being asked or needs to be asked more than once.  Based on these two areas, the evaluator is going to write the report so Ryan will qualify for services. It would be once a week at the school in a group setting of probably just a handful of kids. He did say though by August (when the school therapist will evaluate him), that in those areas, he may have improved significantly where he might not need the school therapy. We talked about the fact that Ryan has been congested basically since before Christmas and we've passed it off as a never ending cold or allergies. Since we took Ryan to the pedi last month and he was put on the 10 day antibiotic, his speech has defnitely improved. He is now saying many 3 & 4 word sentences. The evaluator said, even if he doesn't have an ear infection but he's congested, this can and does affect their ability to hear, thus his ability to talk and thinks we should look more into why he's been having this prolonging congestion. We had already decided to see the pedi about this issue, since once he came off the antibiotic the runny nose & congestion came back. I'd like to have him seen by an allergist since as a child I had terrible allergies, both food & environmental. But we'll see what the pedi has to say first. As far as the school district therapy, we'll get an official notification in a couple weeks that will tell us that he qualifies. He will still remain with Early Intervention until July and then in September will transition over to the school system. Once Ryan turns 3, it will be 2 1/2 years since we started Early Intervention and we've had the same coordinator for that time. It will be 18 months with the same speech therapist. It's definitely going to be a little sad to be saying goodbye, not only because we've gotten to know them so well and they've helped Ryan make such significant strides but because it means our baby is growing up.

Easter Bunny

We took Ryan to see the Easter Bunny at the local mall and he did great. He has such an easy going & welcoming personality when it comes to characters in costumes and right now has no fear of them. When we saw Santa at Christmas, we went over and got a sugar cookie afterwards. Since Ryan has a memory like a hawk (don't all kids though), when we were through getting the pictures with the Easter Bunny, he asks "get cookie?" So of course we had to!

We have a jumper!

Ryan is finally jumping! This may not be a big deal to some with toddlers but to us it is. This was one of the reasons he qualified for PT again when he was 27 months old. Because of the stiffness in his left foot/ankle, he wasn't climbing too much, much less jumping. A couple weeks ago I wrote about that his climbing skills have, for lack of better terms, jumped by leaps and bounds. Now, he's finally jumping!

We went to our local theme park this past weekend and the weather couldn't have been better. Ryan had a wonderful time and didn't conk out until we got in the car to go home (after 9 hrs at the park). We have season passes again this year so this will definitely be a fun summer. The Sesame Street area is fabulous for hot days since they have a water area the kids can run around in. Ryan is such a water boy and last year would've spent hours in there if we let him. He was a little upset we didn't let him in the water Saturday but we didn't think it was going to get hot enough, therefore; didn't bring towels or a change of clothes for us. But as soon as he saw the characters he forgot all about the water.

Hugging Zoe

Ry & Elmo

It was Big Bird's birthday..they gave out Big Bird stuffed animals

we all rode the log flume!

in the 3D/4D Sesame Street show

And here's the video of him playing in the play area:

and jumping at home:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Despite Ryan having another runny nose, he has been in a good mood this week. Yesterday at PT my mom said he was wonderful and did everything the therapist wanted to do. Hopefully by keeping the appt. in the morning and having a little talk with him before going into therapy about how he needs to listen in order to get a sticker, that he will keep up with the good attitude. We are setting up an appt. through Early Intervention to have an Occupational Evaluation. The PT has suggested that Ryan's toe walking might be a slight sensory issue. Pair that up with the fact that he has such a strong oral fixation...he puts a ton of stuff in his mouth even though we tell him "no, it's not food". It might be nothing at all but at least we can get an evaluation and maybe even get more suggestions (other than the couple we got from the ST) about how to get him to stop or at least lessen it.

Today was a great day weather wise so after work we went outside and let Ry play and run around. It's suppose to be gorgeous the rest of the week and we are planning some outdoor activities for the weekend! We also need to get Ryan's hair cut again. I'm not happy with the way the front looks so we might go to the kiddie hair cut place we got Ryan's first hair cut just to see if they could cut it any better than my hairstylist. Enjoy the pics!
St. Patrick Day 2009--still hardly any hair!

St. Patrick's Day- 2010

yep, he IS Irish! (Dean's side)

Here's a quick video of him riding his car (yes, I know we need to get him helmet)

March of Dimes, March for Babies 2010

I know we are late getting on the bandwagon with fundraising this year but with all the sicknesses going around the house and personal things going on within our immediate & extended family, I just couldn't find time to update the video montage and send out emails. I wasn't even sure if we could do the walk this year, but I just can't not do it. We are just so blessed that Ryan is healthy and as far as we know, has suffered no long term effects from being born premature. I KNOW this is because of the March of Dimes research and advancements. This will be our third year participating and we do it because we believe in their mission "To Save Babies." Every baby deserves 40 weeks in the womb and no parent should have to leave the hospital without their newborn baby.

Premature birth is the No.1 cause of newborn deaths and the biggest threat to babies' health today. 77% of every dollar supports research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And your funds are used to bring comfort and information to families whose baby was born too soon, or sick. Because of the medical advancements from March of Dimes research, Ryan's life was saved!

Please help us in this worthy cause by joining our team in the 5 mile walk on April 25, 2010 at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. If you cannot join us by walking, please support us by becoming a sponsor. We know that these economic times are very difficult, but even a donation of $5 can help us reach our goal.

If you are unable to donate but would still like to help in some way, we will be holding a Yankee Candle fund-raiser. If you would like a catalog and order form to pass around to your friends, family and/or co-workers please contact one of us and we will be happy to deliver it to you.

With your support, there's hope....hope that one day every baby will be born healthy!

To sponsor Karen visit: http://www.marchforbabies.org/kareberry1

To sponsor Dean visit: http://www.marchforbabies.org/ryanswarrior
 
You can get to the team page from either of those links in order to view the video montage. 
 
We want to thank all of you for your continued prayers for Ryan and our family.
 
Love,
Karen & Dean

Seriously???

It seems like all I ever write about is Ryan being sick! We sure are paying for the first 2 years of his life when he wasn't sick. Thursday my mom called me in the afternoon and said he had been vomiting since after he woke up from his nap (after he came home from preschool). So I went and got him. At that point he had been vomiting every 10 minutes for 2 hours. We got in my car and my mom sat in the backseat and my dad followed me to my house...in order for my mom to get back home. We got home and by the time we got him settled on the couch, tons of towels and blankets around him and within arms reach of us, another hour had passed. I called the nurse at the pedi office and basically she told me that if it didn't slow down within another hour to take him to the ER because he would need an injection. She calmed my fears of him getting dehyrated, told me what to look for (sunken eyes, pinching the top of his hand) and if it did slow down, then wait 2 hours before offering him 1 or 2 tsp. of gatorade, pedialyte or water. Luckily, he fell asleep for an hour, woke up and vomited just bile and fell back asleep. When he woke up again we gave him 2 tsp of gatorade but he vomited that up within 15 minutes. He was restless on the couch so we took him up to our bed and he fell asleep for the duration of the night. He was somewhat restless which meant Dean and I didn't sleep very well, but at least he had stopped vomiting. By 4 am, he was very restless and wanted to go back to his own bed. He has never been a co-sleeper and he's got my concept of, there's nothing like your own bed! So, I put him in his bed and he went right back to sleep. He slept until almost 7 am and by mid-morning was playing with his cars and running from the kitchen to the den. We kept his diet bland but the poor guy was hungry. Once he woke up from his 3 hour (yay!) afternoon nap, he was starving. He asked for a waffle, pretzals, crackers & a baby mum. I gave him a little of each. By the time Dean and I ate dinner, Ryan wanted one of Dean's chicken tenders so I figured it was okay at that point. So, if he had to be sick again, I'm just thankful it only lasted less than 24 hours. The nice weather has continued and earlier this week, we went for a walk after we got home from work. Ryan loves to be outdoors and go walking around the lake here in the neighborhood.

future football star!

on the bench by the lake

stacking up everything in his shopping cart (the day after he was sick)

It's feeling like Spring!

I doubt we are out of the winter weather but we are certainly having Spring fever! The temps have been in the lower 60's and rising each day. Sunday we took full advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the park. Ryan had a wonderful time and even after 3 hours, didn't want to leave! He's come a long way since November since he started PT. Since his left leg had stiffness, it was hard for him to climb, esp. stairs/steps and he often shuffled his feet along when he walked. Now, he has mastered climbing...anything and everything! Last weekend we took him to an indoor play place that had bouncy's. We were very surprised that he climbed all the way up the slide bouncy's! As you will see in the pictures he had a great time at both places.

playing peek-a-boo with another kid

he went down this slide about 20 times!

I went with Ryan to his physical therapy appointment because the last couple sessions he hasn't been cooperating very well. I'm not sure if it was because his usual session is after lunch, if it was because he wasn't feeling well or that he doesn't think it's "play" anymore. However; today he did excellent. We moved up the session to early morning and I talked to him about listening to the therapist in order to get a sticker after it was over. So, we will continue with the sessions early morning. Like I stated earlier, I think he's done so well since starting 5 months ago. The stiffness in his leg has decreased and so has his toe walking. We may get him evaluated for a sensory issue but I still need to talk to his speech therapist about that. The PT seems to think he has a slight sensory issue because when he toe walks, he usually only does it when he's bare footed and on surfaces other than carpet. He is also still mouthing a ton! Meaning, he puts a lot of things in his mouth. I understand the need to explore different objects & textures but at 2 1/2 yrs old, I believe that's a little too old to still be doing that. I may be wrong and someone please tell me if I'm overreacting but it's frustrating when  we are constantly telling him to get things out of his mouth. This is probably why he's been sick off and on since he started preschool--who knows how many things he gets in his mouth there!