*Climbing up and down the stairs
*Sliding
*Walking on the concrete wall (which is great for practicing balance)
Something new they discovered this week was the bike rack- they just walked in & out between the rails... following each other. I don't know why it was so cute, but it really was!
We were also able to spend time with a new friends this week (Sydney & her mommy, Meredith.) Austin & Sydney are in bible class together at church! They came over to our house for a play date on Wednesday, and the kids played while the mommies chatted! Usually when Austin and his friends "play together", they just do their own thing side by side. But I noticed Austin and Sydney actually played together- chasing, giggling, etc. Sydney also LOVED our cats- which was quite entertaining! This morning we met Sydney & Meredith at Let's Jump (the bounce house place we go to here in town.) I mentioned in his 21 month post about how he loves to climb up the slide and go down himself... which totally scares me- so here is the proof! Sorry the pics are not great, but the place doesn't have very good lighting. Sadly Austin has been quite grumpy the last few days, so we didn't stay as long as expected.
Climbing up the stairs- that is HIGH
Sliding down- he has NO fear
In other news, we are going to visit 2 preschools this coming week. On Monday we are visiting a 1 day preschool in hopes that we can start there fairly soon! On Tuesday we are visiting the 2 day preschool that I'm thinking he will attend in the fall! Fingers crossed that both visits go well!
Also, yesterday I decided it was time to set up an evaluation for Austin with ECI (early childhood intervention). It's a state funding program, and I'm hoping he will qualify for some assistance due to his lack of talking & a few other issues related to communication and concentration. We are both at a point of extreme frustration (him.. because he cannot communicate with me, and me... because I have no idea what he wants.) We've started working on learning sign language, but at this point I feel like we both need some guidance from a professional. I have a friend whose daughter is Austin's age & has some similar problems- and ECI has made a huge difference for them. It's been nice to have someone to talk to about it & give me reassurance about the situation. Anyway, I will keep you posted on the progress. As with most state run programs, ECI takes their time doing everything- so it could take a while. But we have the ball rolling!
10 comments:
I will be praying for y'all. It's hard having someone come in to evaluate your child but they ECI does great things! It's good to be cautious and proactive. Keep us posted! :)
I will try to keep a lookout for you on Tuesday during your visit. Is the 1 day a week place the one I told you about this week?
It is never a bad decision to have too much information as a parent...and if he does end up qualifying for ECI, he will get so many skills so quickly and that will help both of you! Keep me posted!
I am working at a local elementary school in a speech program for pre-schoolers with moderate language delays. I know the testing/meetings to get into some of these programs takes a long time, but hopefully something will be a good match for Austin. Also, the public school programs here start at 3 years old. The kids come for a 2 hour class daily, and the majority of the time is spent in "work time" or free play. I think getting Austin into a preschool program will help a lot more language come around as he interacts with other kids.
Hey Whitney~
We did ECI for both of ours. Addison's was for several different things and Alex's was strictly for speech. They both graduated fairly quickly. Two reasons they exited quickly: Attending school (really helped) and ECI was wonderful.
At first we were really concerned that Addison might have autistic tendencies (ECI was too) but she grew out of all of this. ( I AM NOT SUGGESTING AUSTIN DOES... just saying what we were worried about)! You will be so thankful you did call. It may only take a few visits!!! I will pray for all of you. This is a tough time. I remember too well.
Big hugs.
J
Good for you guys for being so proactive. It will do wonders since he is still so young. Plus I'm sure school will help a lot.
I am so impressed with his no fear on those slides! We went to a place exactly like that about a month ago for a b-day party and Taylor was freaked about trying at first. I don't blame her, when I went down with her I was scared out of my mind! ;)
Hey I will be praying for you all I know this must be frustrating. I am very familiar with ECI b/c here it is part of MHMR. Also, two of the ladies in my class at church work there and one of my friends with twins has her girls going there and they seem to have a lot of options of how to help. Keep me updated. I need to plan a trip to Dallas and see this kiddo who is getting so big!!
Just like everybody else said, you'll be so glad you called and addressed any concerns you may have early. These programs are so helpful and give really practical tips to help the parents b/c it can be so frustrating. It might be kind of scary at first, but before you know it, you'll see progress and be so glad.
I wasn't one to do hundreds of different signs with Tate, but even just teaching him the sign for more, please, and all done seemed to be really helpful. It took him awhile to pick it up but then he got it and it's pretty cute...and helpful.
what fun play dates! We haven't been to our jump place yet...maybe soon!
I hope your preschools work out! :)
Praying for yall during all the ECI stuff. I have friends that have done that for different reasons, & it was so helpful!
I hope it helps him and starts chatting up a storm! :)
Macy qualified for ECI when she was just months old, and we were enrolled in four of their therapy programs until she was three years old. It really was so helpful for her and for us- especially how to communicate with her and how to encourage her to use words to tell us what she wanted. Good luck!
What a good mommy you are! I was a speech path in elementary for years and think that parents that are proactive are the BEST! No matter what the outcome of the evaluation, it will give you good information and tips for you to do yourself. ECI seems to really involve parents in the process... you and Austin will both benefit from gaining the information!
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