We had an appointment with Dr. C yesterday at her office. It was just for Steve and I to talk with her, since I was too stunned to think the last time we had an appointment, and Steve wasn't even there. Jesse spent the morning at day care.
I think Steve feels better for going and asking questions and getting her take on things. Me? I'm leaning towards taking Jesse out of the province to see another specialist. Possibly. It's not that I don't like Dr. C. I do. She's really pretty great, actually, and she has a special needs child of her own, so she kinda gets it. But I don't think she quite understands where I'm coming from on the gut/brain link issue (though she didn't completely discount it).
She agreed that Jesse really does need to see an occupational therapist. That might be tricky though, since she heard a rumour that the OTs at children's rehab aren't even taking new patients, and even if they are, the waiting list is about 18 months long. IN-FREAKING-SANE! She's sending off a referral anyways, and stressing Jesse's previous orthopedic issues (heel cord contracture) that likely resulted from his sensory problems. She also thinks that OT may be able to help him with his speech, since they'd be able to address any issues he has with apraxia. She ALSO wants me to call up Jesse's PT and ask her to set up a joint appointment with an OT, which wouldn't entail such a long wait. Hopefully. Our other option is to go private, and Dr. C did give us the name of a private OT in the area who works with kids with development issues. That's definitely an options. I'm pretty certain we have coverage for that under Steve's insurance.
Overall it was a good appointment. Dr. C did stress that with the gains Jesse is making (especially now with speech) that she would like to re-test Jesse with the ADOS at age 3, with the hope that he would no longer fit the diagnosis. My fingers are crossed that we can get to that point in a year. If the past two weeks are any indication, it's a definite possibility!
Showing posts with label PT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PT. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
What a breakthrough!
I feel like the big brick wall I've been bashing my head against for so long has started to crumble. We had Jesse's weekly speech therapy appointment this morning. Jesse's SLP, M., was THRILLED with his progress! I took my Flip video camera with the video of Jesse talking in the bathtub from last night and showed her. So right away she tossed her plan for incorporating signs into his therapy and wants to dive right into increasing his vocabulary and getting him saying things spontaneously.
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
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