It looks like we will be losing our developmental therapist. We went in for our appointment today, and she told me that she had put her two weeks notice in. There were two other ladies in the room, too. One was our new therapist that will be taking over when our current one leaves. The other lady did a recent speech consultation with Kael and wanted to share that she really thinks that Kael needs to start seeing a speech and language pathologist instead of a generic developmental therapist. Of course, she said we will need to go back to the doctor and get a referral for specialized services. Then they will be able to schedule an evaluation to determine whether or not he qualifies. I'm guessing this will take at least two months.
So, our appointment next week is cancelled, since our therapist is taking the day off for her birthday. Then, the following Friday will be the last time we will see her, at which time we will also meet with our service coordinator to rewrite our Individualized Family Service Plan with new goals for the next year. Then the new lady is on vacation for the next week, and we will start up with her the last week of August until we can get his new evaluation. It just seems like Kael is in for a lot of changes, and it's kind of sad because he seems very happy with what he is doing now. It is really frustrating how bureaucratic this whole Early Start system is. It seems like everyone is part of a different agency or program, and they have no way of communicating or doing things simultaneously.
On the other hand, I am sort of excited for the change. Even though Kael really enjoys his therapist and loves his playtime during his appointments, it doesn't seem like it's helping very much. Right now, it seems as if his sessions are almost completely child-led, which I can understand since she really specializes in infants...but, we already do that at home. I want him to be pushed a little, so that he starts making some progress. I feel like I almost do a better job of speech therapy at home. This new lady seems to be a lot more business-oriented, if you know what I mean. Even though Kael has made some progress while with this program, he is also seven months older than when he started. I have a feeling that as far as developmental milestones go, he is just as far behind, age-wise, as when we began. Here's hoping that these changes will finally get Kael motivated. I am hoping that by the time he would graduate from "Early Start" (third birthday), we won't need any sort of therapy anymore.
