Catching up PHEW!

Finally something to write about!!!! I’m definitely a summer blog slacker and I apologize if anyone comes here regularly looking for updates, but hopefully most of you are summer blog-reader slackers. :) So we had a big day a few Wednesdays ago, with Chloe’s 2nd PPT (Planning and Placement Team – I think that’s what it stands for anyway) and then her hearing test. Both went quite well. She’ll be going to the town inclusive preschool 4 mornings a week from 9-11:35. She’ll get 1 hour of speech, divided into 2 half hour sessions and 1 hour of occupational therapy, also divided into 2 half hour sessions. She is not currently scheduled to receive physical therapy but there is a plan in place to assess her for PT when she enters school in the fall. I’m really excited for her to start the program and think she’ll do GREAT! My only main concern is the first bus ride in and how confusing that will be for her, especially since she doesn’t have the language. It’s possible to drive her the first few days so she gets used to taking the bus HOME first, but that will all depend on my work situation (remember, I’m looking for a job). But all-in-all it was a successful meeting.

The hearing test was also a success, showing hearing in the normal to low normal range. We return in 6 months to see if they can get her to wear the headphones to tease out hearing in her individual ears. But aside from occasionally confusing similar sounding words, I have no concerns about her hearing. She hears even the slightest sounds!!!

The other day my mom and I took Chloe for her big speech eval with speech guru Lori Overland. She spent 2 hours assessing and working with Chloe. Sweet little Chloe worked her BUTT off!!!!! I was so proud of her! After working with her and speaking with me about her speech and speech history, Lori was fairly confident that Chloe has Apraxia. "Apraxia is a disorder in carrying out or learning complex movements that cannot be accounted for by elementary disturbance of strength, coordination, sensation, comprehension or attention." She told us in children with Down syndrome the outlook is fairly good and that although they struggle with developing speech (and it will take a LOT of work) once they get it, they “get it”. I have to read up more on this disorder, but I do know children with Ds with apraxia often don’t learn to speak until they are 5 or so. Any information anyone has would be greatly appreciated. :) *Chloe has since had her speech session with her Birth to Three Early Intervention Speech and Language Pathologist and she disagrees about the apraxia. Grrrr. Can’t we just agree??? Not sure what to make of it all now. . .

I can’t end this post without a quick mention of our recent trip to MT and ND. It was AWESOME!!! The kids were all great (minus Sadie getting sick with a 3-day fever and then Chloe getting sick with a 3-day fever and then my niece getting sick with strep, which Stacey and I then got, followed by Xander and low and behold, Chloe tested positive too, so we just assume that’s what Sadie had!!!!! PHEW). We had such a wonderful time with family and visiting the place where Stacey (AKA “daddy”) grew up! It was so awesome getting a chance to all be together as a family. It sucks being spread from CT to AK, but we have to try to make the best of it!

Okay, I better post this now, or I never will. . .
I've got more to say, but we'll save that for another time!!!