Thursday, August 27, 2009

Appointments Appointments

Warning: Post may contain typos... Proceed with caution.

Or mercy, at least, please. :) I'm exhausted, but wanted to update everyone.

Yesterday was Kibby's appointment with her pediatrician. She did a 3-year check up and when I told her about how the early childhood screening went (well, didn't go) she agreed with my concerns and 50 minutes later we left with three pending appointments. One with an audiologist, although both the doc and I agree that we doubt this is part of the problem - it's certainly good to rule it out, if nothing else. Especially since she's never had a hearing test (except the newborn one, which she passed fine.)
The second appointment is with a speech / language therapist. Again, her speech is fine, but it's her use of language that will be evaluated.
The third is a more in-depth evaluation with a development / behavioral ... hm, what is their title? Specialist? I guess I don't know! With someone in that department, anyway!

After I posted this on Facebook, one of my friends commented that they had been through this stuff with their little boy and none of it was covered by their insurance and it wasn't cheap...

Sigh.

Well, I am hoping this is all covered. Otherwise I'll have to cancel and we'll have to find another way to help her. I'll do some checking later today. Her first appointment isn't until Sept. 9th, and the second one is later in the month. I am thinking the audiologist appointment should be covered at least, since she's never had a screening done. I guess I'll find out! Insurance companies can be such a hassle. Ugh.

More updates later. My bed is calling me. I don't sleep well these days, especially on nights I work, like last night. It's hard to get comfy on an old couch when you have a large belly and sciatica pains, so my own bed is sounding wonderful right now! (And since all 3 kiddos are still snoozing, I'm taking advantage of it!)

Friday, August 21, 2009

We've Only Just Begun

Those who have been reading my blog for a while know that we have some concerns about our middle child, Kaliyan (aka "Kibby"). She is 3 and a half and has some communication issues. She is easily distracted which makes it nearly impossible to have a conversation with her. She has meltdowns easily when she is not understood or does not get her way. It makes life with her very frustrating at times!

She also says off-the-wall things. For example: The other day we were having a snack and she said in a very mournful tone (out of the blue, seemingly) "Oh no! The meatballs are all gone!" (pause) "Are they upstairs in Bobbie's room?"

Okay, where on Earth did that thought come from? We haven't had meatballs in ages, certainly not at my sister's house (Bobbie is my sister, and lives 3 -4 hours away) and why would they be in her room, of all places? I did call my sister to tell her the latest "Kibby-ism" and said maybe she should check in her room for meatballs. They'd rot quickly in this weather and stink up her house. ;) We had a laugh over it, but this type of thing happens a lot with Kibby. She will say things that just make us shake our heads in confusion. I may never be able to figure that girl out...

Which brings me to today's events.

She was scheduled for her Early Childhood Screening / Check-in today. I'm not gonna lie. It didn't go well. We reviewed the things they asked us to review ahead of time and I filled out all the paperwork, listing all of my concerns. There were a few red flags already for me as I'd filled it all out, but there were also a lot of "normal" areas too. I was supposed to check off things that described Kibby. They asked if she could count from 1 - 10. Check. Can she stay dry during the day? Check. Can she transition from one activity to another without a lot of difficulty? Usually. Does she destroy things on purpose? Nope. Does she show physical aggression (biting, kicking...) towards other children? Nope.

So far so good, right?

But then.

Does she understand the concept of "one"? Can she bring you just one item, such as one crayon? (We tried this, because I didn't really know! First she brought me one block. Then I asked her to bring me one more, and she brought me 3. We tried again, and she brought me 3 more. We did something else and came back to it, asking for one block, and she ignored me and just played with them.) No check.

Does she compare things, such as one object being bigger or heavier than another? (We tried this, too. Several examples.) NO check.

Can she count items? No check. Can she tell which object is longer or shorter? No check.

This went on for a few more things. I began wondering if it was because we never really worked on these things with her or if it was something kids her age should be able to pick up on her own. I tried to think back to Ethan, but that didn't help. We never had any concerns about his development. Not a good comparison. Ethan had no communication problems, and started reading at age 3, and was always asking questions and trying to figure things out. Kibby's main concern for us was always her language. I think it still is her main struggle. If the communication is there, she could grasp these things they asked. But instead of pointing to which book is the bigger one, she repeats us, saying "Which is bigger?" Its as if she doesn't understand what we are asking her to do. It's not her speech (she can form words and speak clearly enough) so I don't think she needs speech therapy, but it's her use of language that gives her trouble.

Can she count to 10? Yes. When she thinks of it, or when we model it for her, she copies. She can say her ABC's and knows all of her letters. She knows her numbers, too. She knows colors and shapes. She is bright. She just gets lost when it comes to paying attention to a conversation or following one, or understanding how a conversation works, really.

So, after reading my long list of concerns, and trying to talk to Kibby about when she uses her toothbrush, and who lives at home with her (and getting nowhere, Kibby was looking all over the room, whispering about things she was seeing, and couldn't be redirected back to the conversation)... the teacher said she didn't think we could even do the screening.

Talk about disappointing. Not really a shocker, but sooooo disappointing.

So I still have no answers. The lady recommended we schedule a 3-year check up with her pediatrician and tell her all of our concerns, and she (the doctor) could refer us from there as needed. She said if the doctor is doubtful, I should explain what happened today. (Oh believe me, I will!)

We got home and after letting the kids chow down a late lunch of McD's, I called and made the appointment with the pediatrician for next week.

I have a feeling we've only just begun with this whole process. And it's going to be a LONG ROAD for this one.






On a brighter note, here is proof that she DOES sometimes color on paper. :)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Artist or Stinker?

You know you've all had those days, too. When you turn your back for a minute (or five) and all Jello breaks loose?

Only this isn't Jello.

But it may be harder to clean?

Here's a look at some of Kibby's latest "artwork". You tell me, Artist or Stinker?








She looks so proud of herself, here, too. (For the record, the ink washed off fairly easily!)


Sigh. What am I going to do with this girl?

Maybe I should start with keeping a closer eye on her, huh?

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Cousins

Okay, I know lots of bloggers post less in the Summer because they are busier and all. I guess I would fit into that category. Somewhat. It's Summer, and we're busier than normal, but too busy to blog? Hm, well...

I can honestly blame some of my lack of posts to our internet issues, but that's only for the past month. (Issues now resolved, yay!)

But, instead of trying to figure out why I've been so absent, how about I just actually write a post, huh? :)

I wanted to share pictures of the kids at the local (small) zoo, but that won't be in this post. Neither will you see pics of my kids at a few other various fun events... They are still in my sister-in-law's camera. And she's on vacation. At Yellowstone.

And I'm not jealous at all.

I do however have pics of last week when Seth's sister and her family visited from out East. It was a fun week that went by too fast. The kids got to meet their cousins for the first time. Here are a few shots:


The Birthday Girl with Kibby




Just before their long drive home.



At MOA




Cha Cha!




Awww... Ruby kisses.


So what have the kids been up to? Quickly, here's a run-down:

Ruby's been busy trying to learn all her cousins' names. Kibby's been busy... being Kibby. (More on that in a future post, but I will say that I finally set up her Early Childhood Screening appointment for later this month!)

And Ethan? Well, he's bored. Or at least that's what I hear about 20 times a day. I think it will be good for September to come and school to start up again. The routine will be good for him.

And me? I think I'm starting "nesting" already. Just under 3 months to go, and I've been sorting baby and kids' clothes, arranging beds, and rethinking furniture and sleeping arrangements. We still don't have a name for the baby, either. Seth and I need to sit down and discuss that some day, huh?

You know, in all our FREE TIME. Or should I say, free time when the kids are quiet enough for us to actually have a conversation beyond "has Kibby gone potty lately?" or "well, if you don't want pizza again for dinner what DO you want?" or "who drew that picture on the wall with brown crayon?"

Because I don't want to name the baby "T-Bone". (Suggestion by cousin Isaiah, age 10.)
Or "Max". (Suggestion by Ethan, age 7. Because then we'd have a Max AND a Ruby. You know, like those rabbits on that one show. Or in those books. Or whatever.)

No T-Bone. No Max. Anyone else have any name suggestions?